The Cataclysm
by Taylor Hatake
Summary: Fourteen year-old Taylor Hatake and her father and grandfather find themselves struggling to survive after a meteor knocks the moon closer into Earth's orbit.
1. One

**Quick Author's note and Disclaimers:  
**I do not own "The Last Survivors", it belongs to Susan Beth Pfeffer. But I do own the characters. Thank you and enjoy the story!

* * *

Friday, May 13,

Man oh man, my head hurts terribly and I'm still upset about today. My day started off great until Alex, one of my classmates, harassed me in fourth bell today. I was just at my desk, reading "Catching Fire" from "The Hunger Games" series when she walked up to me and called me a "stupid Asian". I thought it was rather rude of her to say that, seeing as how I have all A's in school. Being the mature one, I tried the handle the situation myself.

"What is the problem?" I asked her, not bothering to look up at her.

Alex took my book and slammed it on my desk.

"You know, grey hair," she said. "You have the best grades in the school."

I folded my arms angrily.

"Yeah so?" I said.

"And you win all the boy's hearts! How do you do that with that... ugly, grey hair?! You look like an old lady! No boy should like that."

I shot her a glare and I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? You look like a slut with that outfit and hairdo. Its no wonder guys don't like you," I said, picking my book back up. "I don't win the boy's hearts, they all just pretend to like me. Apparently, you haven't heard any rumors about me that started with them."

I pulled my book back up and stood it on my desk.

"Now if you'll excuse me I want to get to the good part of this book."

Alex looked super angry at that point, and I wasn't in the mood to deal with her so I just went back to reading.

"How dare you!" she yelled, startling our classmates.

I stood up and glared at Alex.

"Does it look like I care what you think Alex?!" I exclaimed. "No, I could care less what you think. Now leave me alone you little _shtako_!"

Alex looked so pissed off at this point, it made my heart do a sprint to the seventh grade hall. I admit, I was kinda scared.

"What's going on in here!?" Mr. Riberdy asked as he walked in.

I looked at him and a sense of relief flooded over me. _Mr. Riberdy, thank the Goddess you're here!_ I thought. Before I could ask for assistance, Alex punched me in the eye, and I fell backwards, hitting my head on the wall behind me. I cried out in pain, but I stood back up and got ready to defend myself if need-be.

The class gasped, and Mr. Riberdy ran over to me and helped me up. Though, one idiot did say, "You go girl!"

"Alexandria Martin! Go down to the principal's office right now!" he yelled.

Tears streamed down my face and I held in a soft cry. I had hit my head, and that hurt like a bitch. It hurt more than my karate-sensei landing a punch to my noggin when we fight.

"M-Mr. Riberdy... " I stammered.

Mr. Riberdy turned to me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Why don't you go down to the nurse," he said calmly.

I nodded.

"Y-Yes sir." I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Would you like someone to accompany you?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Lowgan..."

"Lowgan would you accompany Taylor to the nurse's office?" he asked.

"Yes sir," she said.

She stood up and walked to me, gathering my things and smiled.

"I can't believe she did that to you, Taylor," she said.

I nodded.

"I can't either." I said.

"Here, I'll sign y'all a pass to the nurse." Mr. Riberdy said.

I nodded.

"Th-Thanks Mr. Riberdy." I said.

Lowgan gave him both our planners and he wrote us both a pass to the nurse. He handed them back to us and smiled reassuringly.

I nodded and Lowgan and I both headed out.

Lowgan looked at me and said, "That chick es loco!"

"_Loca_," I emphasized, then I nodded.

"But yeah, that's basically it. She's got more problems than a psychiatric ward."

She started down the stairs and I followed closely. I clutched her arm when I started to feel dizzy.

"Aye, what's wrong?" she asked.

"I'm kind of dizzy," I murmured.

"Well bish, we're almost there." she said in her funny little dorky tone.

Lowgan is my best friend, if you can't tell. She is one of the craziest people I know, except my father and grandfather. We'll they're sort of crazy. Not as crazy as Lowgan is! I mean, she practically bounces off the walls, even without sugar. I could just about use her as a basketball in gym. But my Goddess, do I love her like a sister.

So, we walked into the nurse's office and we sat down, waiting for Nurse Julia to come off the phone. She looked up at us and raised an eyebrow.

"What's up girls?" she asked.

"One of our classmates punched Taylor and she fell back into the wall, and I think she has a concussion." Lowgan said for me.

I looked down and cracked my fingers. The nurse nodded.

"Mkay, I'll go make you an icepack. What's your name dear?" she asked.

"Taylor Hatake," I said shakily.

"Taylor Hatake hm? Alright I'll be right back so sit tight sweetie." she said.

I nodded and I leaned back some in the chair. The nurse came back in a few minutes later with an icepack. She handed it to me and I took and held it up to my head.

"Anything else dear?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Y-Yes ma'am. C-Could you call my grandfather, Sakumo Hatake, and tell him to come pick me up please? My head hurts too much and I'm rather dizzy." I said.

"Of course. What's his number?" she asked.

I gave her his work number, knowing that he's at work right now. She nodded and called him. A few moments of silence passed before I heard her talk.

"Mmm, Mr. Hatake? This is your granddaughter's school nurse speaking. Taylor was hit by a classmate into a wall. She requested you pick her up. Mh-hm. Alright, I'll tell her you're on your way now. You're welcome and have a nice day son."

The nurse put down the phone and looked at me.

"Grandpa says he'll be here in half an hour. I suggest you go back and gather your things together. Alright?" she said.

"Yes ma'am." I said.

"Good. Bye-bye now and have a great weekend dears." she said.

I managed to crack a smile and stand up wearily, still holding my icepack. Lowgan grabbed our stuff and we both hurried upstairs. I got up to the stairs and I turned and slid to my locker. I opened my lock quickly and I jammed my binder into my locker and pulled out my backpack.

"Well that was fast." Lowgan joked.

"Of course," I giggled.

"Want me down at the office with you?" Lowgan asked.

"N-No you should go to lunch." I said.

"Okay..." she said.

We both walked down the stairs and I hugged her before a teacher could see us and I hurry to the office.

When I got to the office, I sat down in a chair and waited. While I waited, Mrs. Katie had me write down an incident report. When I was finished, I walked into the front part of the office and I saw that long, silver, hair tied back in a ponytail and that white long sleeved shirt Grandpa wears tucked in his black pants. I clutched the icepack tightly against my head. He walked into the office and looked at me. That look said, "get over here". I scurried over to him and he looked away and walked over to the front desk and signed me out. When he finished, he turned around and looked at me.

"Lets go," he said.

"Yes Grandpa,

I nodded and followed him out. I didn't think Grandpa was too happy about having to pick me up in the middle of the day. The entire time it took to get to the truck, I had my head down, staring at the ground.

"Tell me what happened," he said as he got into the truck.

I opened the door and climbed in. As soon as the door was closed and I was buckled in, he started driving.

"We were all just studying - I was just reading "Catching Fire" - and you remember Alex, Alex Martin? That girl that keeps on bullying me?"

"Yes."

"Called me a stupid asian because I get a guys's attention and all A's. She doesn't even realize its the bad kind of attention, like bullying attention. I don't even like the guys in our grade, they're all _tonchiki_s anyway. Chick calls me an old lady cause I've got grey hair."

"What'd you tell her?"

"I told her that she looks like a slut with the outfit she wore and her hairdo and that it was no wonder the guys didn't like her. Then, she punched me as soon as the teacher got back into the classroom."

"Why'd you want to come home?" I asked.

"My head hurts... And I kinda feel dizzy."

"I see...," I said. "Was she punished or...?"

"I dunno," she shrugged. "They didn't tell me what they were planning. I went straight to the nurse and then up to my locker. Afterwards, I went down to the office and Miss Katie asked me to write an incident report."

"Eh, they might call us or will call you down to the office Monday morning anyway. I bet that the girl is just jealous because you're prettier than her," he said, winking at me. He chuckled a bit.

Finally, just five minutes later, we were home. When Grandpa opened the door, Daddy was walking to the living room. When he saw us he looked confused.

"Dad? Taylor? What on earth are you guys doing home so early?" he asked.

I clung to Grandpa's arm.

"I picked her up from school... because... well, I'll let Taylor explain it," he said. "But, anyway, I'll make lunch for you both since Taylor gave her lunch to Lowgan, I'm pretty sure of it."

I folded my arms.

"How'd you know?"

"Your lunchbox looks lighter than it usually is," he said.

Gently, Grandpa pushed me somewhat so I would let go and he walked to the kitchen and started fixing lunch. I sat my icepack down and I took my backpack off. I tossed it onto the couch and I sat down beside the bag. Daddy sat down next to me as I picked my icepack up and held it on my eye since that was starting to hurt more. He turned to me and saw how upset I was and grinned. _Uh oh_, I had thought. _He's going to tickle me to death. _Of course, he did start tickling me. I giggled as he tickled me.

"Haha stop it Daddy, I can't breathe!" I said, laughing. Really doesn't help that I'm super ticklish.

He smiled softly and stopped so I could breathe.

"Haha, I thought you needed some cheering up," he said. "You looked really upset."

I nodded.

"Why don't you tell me what happened," he said.

And so, I told him everything, keeping my voice as steady as possible.

I left nothing out. He listened intently, his gentle, light blue eyes with my light, slate grey eyes. When I finished, I was almost in tears. Its stupid. I am a young woman, and I'm in tears because someone said I looked like an old lady and that no boy should like me, and for being punched in the face. I really think that's kind of stupid.  
Daddy closed his eyes and breathed in slowly and deeply, letting out a long sigh. Gently, he brushed my bangs to the side and opened his gentle, calm eyes in a soft smile. I felt my blood rushing to my cheeks.

"Its okay," he said. "you're none of those things. You're a very smart, beautiful, talented young lady. Do not believe a single word she said, Taylor. Don't let her get to you."

I smiled softly and hugged him. Daddy hugged me back and didn't let go. I soon relaxed and fourth bell felt like a distant memory.

Saturday, May 14

Grandpa brought me to the shooting range, both to shoot a gun and to draw. Today was kind of interesting though. Chief Benjamin Grant, or as I usually call him Chief Grant and Deputy Neil Riker, or Deputy Riker, were talking to each other as they fired their guns.

"Hey Chief, have you heard the news about the asteroid that's supposedly going to hit the moon this Wednesday?" Deputy Riker said.

I looked up at them and raised an eyebrow. Chief Grant shook his head.

"Amazingly I haven't heard about that." he said, his jade green eyes shone when he looked at Riker.

I looked back at Grandpa only to realize he'd gotten out of his firing position. He looked at the chief and the deputy.

"An asteroid?" he asked.

Riker nodded.

"Astronomers say it would be a really awesome sight to see. I bet your granddaughter over there would like to see that." he said.

"She probably would Neil." Grandpa said. "What day is it?"

"May 18, this up coming Wednesday." Riker replied.

Grandpa glanced at me.

"Maybe you and your son could bring Taylor over here after school or after dinner, shoot some targets and watch the asteroid."

"Or you guys could come over around seven and I'll cook supper and we can watch the moon from our house." Grandpa said.

"Your idea is better 'Kumo." Neil said.

Ben nodded.

"A lot better. Especially because I haven't had any of that famous Hatake steak in awhile." he said.

Blushing, he ran his fingers through his messy hair. He then reached behind and fixed his ponytail.

"Thanks Ben," he replied.

Ben nodded and grinned.

"No problem Sakumo."

Monday, May 16,

Today, I went to the office because of Alex hitting me Friday. I gave everything that happened and I was about to be put in ISS, but I managed to reason with them about that.

"You can't send me to ISS for something I didn't do. I'm the victim," I said. "How is that fair? The victim being put in ISS. I didn't even hit her because I refused to be sent to ISS for hitting someone back in defense."

"You can't change the rules. The rules state-"

"I am not going to ISS for something that stupid," I scowled a bit. "I'm the victim, and ISS is not for the victim. ISS should be meant for the one who instigated it, Alex in this case."

I wasn't trying to sound arrogant about this, but I feel like I came out arrogant. They didn't give me ISS, but I did receive a demerit for it. I got five merits, I can buy that back. No problem. Just gotta get it signed. Sigh...

Tuesday, May 17

What on Earth. In Spanish class, we learned about the moon. _La Luna en español_. Miss German, I love you, but there's no need to give us homework a day before the SOL. We have to write an essay in _español_. We know enough spanish to make a short essay. When is it due? Next Monday. _Arigato gozaimasu Sensei_. _Arigato gozaimasu_. It'll count as our final exam grade.

In history, Mr. Riberdy taught us about the history of the moon and the missions to the moon. Then gave us an essay where we have to pick one Apollo mission and also we have to study for the science SOL. The essay is due next Monday.

I'm thinking about translating the short essay into Spanish, since my Spanish is that good. Its _La Luna _related so she should (will) accept it.

Thankfully, Ms. Rau gave us a break on homework and made us finish the science packet from yesterday while she read poems about the moon.

Math was a lot better. Ms. Etheridge made us watch science videos on BrainPop, mainly the states of matter, the elements, chemistry, and science data tables and graphs. No homework except study.

Science, thankfully, was just review. Thanks Mr. Battalio. I appreciate you not talking about the moon. All day long, I've been half tempted to pull out my mp3 so I wouldn't have to listen.

When I got home, I felt a surge of tiredness go through me. I opened the door and went inside and closed the door behind me. I walked to the couch and collapsed onto it. I sighed heavily.  
"Hm? Taylor?" a voice asked.  
I looked up and saw Grandpa taking off his uniform shirt. I nodded.  
"You look tired," he commented.  
I nodded again.  
"Long day of learning about _La Luna_," I muttered.  
Grandpa chuckled.  
"_La Luna_ huh?" he said. "I guess this event is a lot bigger than we thought."

"Yeah..." I said.

I sat up on the couch and pulled out my Macbook. I got on and I looked up information about Apollo 11 and Grandpa started on dinner. I made a four-square and shot down some ideas for the essay. By the time Grandpa finished cooking, Dad came home. So he went into his room and put on a lighter shirt so he could cool down, and then he went into the kitchen and sat down. I went into my room and grabbed my science textbook (which I will bring to school tomorrow to return after the SOL) and brought it into the kitchen. Thankfully they let me read at the table, since there is a big test tomorrow. While I studied, Grandpa and Daddy talked to each other. I blocked out their conversation sort of, and focused on studying and eating my dinner; white rice and miso with eggplant.  
After dinner, I went straight to bed.

Wednesday, May 18,

My science SOL is out of the way now! That test was a piece of cake! Finished within an hour and I got to take a nice, much needed, nap. When they were done testing, Mr. Batallio put his hand on my shoulder and shook me awake.

"Time to wake up," Mr. Battalio said with a grin.

I sat up and yawned. Then, I stood up and stretched and followed Lowgan out of the computer lab silently. I yawned again when we got to the stairs. Lowgan glanced at me and giggled

.  
"I listened to my music while reading on my tablet," she whispered. "I see you were asleep."

"Oh you know how I am..." I murmured.

We walked into Mr. Batallio's room and sat down. Both of us waited until someone brought up that it was the end of the day and that we should go ahead to our lockers. Mr. Batallio agreed and let us go to our lockers. We went outside into the hall and grabbed our stuff to go home from our lockers and headed back into his room. I sat down and put my earbuds in and listened to music with my head back and my eyes closed. I went into my own world with my favorite singer singing in the background. A small day dream, just about my karate sensei, Yamato Sekka and I training tomorrow. He gets back from Japan, seeing his best friend (who is my favorite singer in the world) Kazuhiko Inoue, tomorrow.

Lowgan woke me up when we were dismissed to the buses and I jumped right up and we went to the bus. We got on and just chilled until the bus got to my stop, then I got off and walked home in the hot, Virginian summer, weather. When I got home I continued my history essay. By around six, Chief Grant and Deputy Riker got there and Grandpa started dinner, and I finished my short essay for history in time for dinner, which was around seven-thirty, and ate until about eight-ten. Then we watched the news (more like they watched the news, I worked on translating my history essay into spanish.)

Then around nine-thirty we went outside to watch the moon. I brought my sketchbook out to draw and I drew the moon while sitting on my father's car. As I drew, I had to look up at the moon. Around the seventh time I looked up, I saw the asteroid crash into the moon. The moon was pushed closer to the Earth and I heard our neighbors go into full panic mode. Some started praying (what's that gonna do really?), others whimpered. Some of the other neighbors just screamed. I got up and went inside because I was getting a headache from them. Grandpa, Daddy, Ben and Riker both followed me. Silently, we all sat down in front of the TV and Daddy put on Channel 10, which didn't seem to work. Then, he tried CNN. That didn't work either.

"Try channel 3 son," Grandpa said. "I swear if you try to put on Fox News..."

"Dad, I may be half asleep half the time, but I am not stupid," Daddy said, trying channel 3. That certainly worked.

The news report was horrific.

Sadly, the reception on the TV was terrible. Cable went in and out, but we got the gist of what's happening (like 90% I guess), so I went and grabbed the radio alarm clock from Grandpa's room and we listened to that. Thankfully, the Virginia station came in strong, but even then we got around the country info (stupid right?).

No one seemed to know what was going on. They knew about as much as we did at first; the moon got hit, which we knew of course. We were told it was supposed to be hit. But, unfortunately something was miscalculated. Which in this case it was the mass of the asteroid that was miscalculated.

Before any astronomer could explain what just happened, we got the bulletin. And before we could hear it, we got the TV reception back to see what was going on. We all sat there, glued to the TV like 9-11 happened all over again. Only, this wasn't a terrorist attack of any kind. It was just an asteroid who'd hit the moon by chance.

The man who was broadcasting the news turned pale, and we know he'd heard something bad over his earpiece because of his face turning pale. He said, "Are you sure? Its been confirmed?" He paused to listen to the reply and then turned his face to the camera, trying to appear calm. The reporter gulped and cleared his throat.

"We are receiving reports of widespread tsunamis. Whatever just happened tonight at nine thirty-seven PM had affected the tidal waves, which are controlled by the moon." he nodded his head a bit. "Indeed, I just got that. The tides have seem to have swelled far beyond their normal boundaries. Massive flooding has been reported all over the eastern seaboard. There has been some confirmation of this, but some still have yet to be confirmed."

Grandpa shook his head, not sure if he could believe it. But, it hasn't come from Fox News so its more believable than what comes out of their mouths. Chief Grant just watched it silently.

"We've got some more confirmation," the newsman said. "There are confirmed reports of tidal waves twenty feet or higher in Virginia Beach, Elizabeth City, Currituck, Hertford, and other Virginia - North Carolina coastal cities. Reports from New York are coming in. The Statue of Liberty has been washed out to sea and they're having the same issues as we are down here."

I stared at the TV like it was broadcasting in Chinese. Though, I sure as hell know what all this means, but still... It was rather hard to believe.

"We're getting confirmed reports of the barrier islands off the Carolina coast has been submerged underwater," he said. "And the same goes for Cape Cod in lower Manhattan."

The reporter gulped a bit.

"There is also confirmation of massive damage to southern Florida. Many deaths, many causalities."

"I'm going to bed," I said, looking at the time. Nearly 10 PM.

"Alright," Grandpa said, kissing my head.

"Sweet dreams sweetie," Daddy hugged me tight, like he was going to protect me from any danger. Then, he let me go.

I waved to Chief Grant and Deputy Riker and hurried up the stairs. I brushed my teeth and went into my room, closing the door behind me. I walked over to my radio alarm clock and turned it on. Broadcasting the same thing as downstairs.

"There's no way of knowing the number of deaths," the newsman said. "Communication satellites are down. Telephone lines are down. We're trying to get an astronomer to come to our studio to tell us what has happened but with no luck. They're all rather busy, so we really can't get ahold of them."

I sat down on my bed and thought about what has happened. Then, I reached for my _kakashi_ plushie and hugged it. The plush scarecrow was given to me when I was little, just to make me happy when Daddy had to leave for work. That was when he had a job... Now he doesn't. He made a slight mistake and got fired for the mistake. To this day, neither one of us understood why.

That was in '03, when I was eleven.

I laid down in the bed and continued listening for five minutes, then I turned off the radio and crashed in bed. Tomorrow, I bet is going to be hell.


	2. Two

Thursday, May 19,

This morning was rather odd. I walked out of the house after giving Daddy a kiss on his cheek and I instantly felt something wrong. I sprinted down to the bus stop like I normally do, and half way there I notice some kids were missing from both the high school and the middle school bus stops. I slowed down to a walk and stared up at the scary moon. The moon loomed over me and I stared at the beautiful details of the craters. The moon. _La Luna. _A beautiful celestial object that has always intrigued me was looming over me like a skilled Kung Fu master ready to attack. Soon, clouds started covering the moon which made me shrug and I switched the song I was listening to, to something more energetic.

When I got on the bus, I took a seat in the front of the bus and stared out the window, listening to my music until Lowgan got on.

"Oh my god," she said, sitting down beside me. "Did you see the moon this morning?"

"I'd rather not think about it right now..." I murmured.

"It scared the living sheeeeit out of me this morning!" she exclaimed. "I came out of my house this morning, singing a vocaloid song and I looked up at the moon and was like, 'Whoa, whoa, what the hell happened to the moon'?"

I clutched my MP3 player in my hands.

"The meteor pushed the moon closer to the earth last night."

"Question mark?" she said, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"The density of the asteroid had to be great enough to have knocked the moon closer into orbit," I explained.

"It probably was..." she said.

And after that we were quiet for the rest of the drive to school. When we got there, I got off the bus quickly and ran inside. Thankfully, Mr. Clayton and Mr. Banks didn't yell at me to stop. I don't think they even cared. None of the teachers I passed seemed to care. I saw my teacher from two years ago, Mr. Riberdy Sr., and so I ran over to him and gave him a quick hug. Then, I went upstairs and I slid to my locker. Unlocking it, I grabbed my elective stuff and went into homeroom. Half the class was silent. Honestly, I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I mean, the whole room is usually full of loud chatter (and it bothers me for sure), but the only time its quiet is when one of the sisters of evil is not there. And all three are there.

After morning announcements and homeroom, we walked downstairs to go to gym, but when Mr. Riberdy opened the door that leads to the outside hall, he sent us back upstairs because it was raining pretty hard and we had to go down the 7th grade stairs. I went downstairs and walked right into the gym and into the girl's locker room. I went to my locker and changed into my gym cloths and shoved everything else into my locker. Then, I sprinted outside into the gym and ran to the water fountain. I drank from it and then sat down in my squad. Silently, I looked around the gym. It's too early to tell, but I can already tell there's not many people here today. Its quiet in both the locker rooms as far as I can hear. But actually, there were more kids here than I thought. Oh well.

We started warm ups when everyone was out.

Not five seconds after warm ups, Mr. Ward made an announcement over the intercom.

"Teacher and students, a tornado warning has been issued. Please go out into the halls and take cover now."

I looked up at the teachers that were pointing and shouting over the kid's panicked screams and cries as the windows were blown in after lightning struck brightly outside. Everyone but Lowgan, Ryan, Makayla and I were shouting and screaming. Before I could stand up, a shard of glass cut into my skin as broken glass rained down upon the gym.

"Ow..." I said plainly.

I walked over to Lowgan who was running out of the gym. Lowgan looked at me.

"Bro your arm..." she said. "Its frickin bleeding."

"I don't care." I said.

She shrugged.

"Alright. If you say so."

And we took cover on the gator hall wall and stayed in that position for two, long hours. I actually almost fell asleep. Just couched with my hands on my head, practically kissing my ass goodbye. Hah, I've watched Volcano way too many times. When the father asks his daughter what to do in an earthquake, her response is, "Get into a doorframe, stick your head between your knees and kiss your ass goodbye". That's how this was for me, except its "Get on the floor, cover your head and stick it between your knees and kiss your ass good bye". Yeah. That's how I certainly felt.

When it was over, Lowgan slammed her hand against my back, which woke me up.

"Girl, wake up." she said. "I know you were sleeping."

"Nuh-uh...," I said tiredly.

I sat up.

"Ow..." I groaned, standing up. "Man you hit like my father!"

We turned around and listened as the sixth graders cried. I think some of the eighth graders were crying too. And believe it or not, I didn't blame them. This situation is rather scary, especially since its new to us.

"Mr. Williams and Mrs. Van Hoozen's first bells go get your regular cloths on and then head on up to third bell!" Mr. Williams shouted so we could hear.

Us girls all headed to the locker room and quickly changed into our normal clothes. I met up with Lowgan outside the locker room and then we made our way out of the gym and upstairs.

"That... was frickin screwed up...," Lowgan said to me as we stumbled up the stairs.

"Yes it was," I murmured.

"Oh, and you should get that cut on your arm checked out," Lowgan said.

I glanced at the cut. It wasn't bleeding any more, and it wasn't a cat bite so it had to be fine, right?

"Its not an animal bite," I said. "I don't need to have it checked out."

Lowgan huffed.

"Alright, if you say so," she grumbled, walking into Ms. Rau's room. "see ya."

"See ya."

I kept on going down the hall. As I got closer to Mr. Battalio's room, I could just make out a tall figure standing in the shadows. Oh, did I mention the lights went out after that bright flash of lightning? Well, it did haha. Even with the light coming from the broken windows, it was still rather hard to see. As I got even closer, I could just make out silver hair in the dim light. Once I was close enough, I saw it was Sakumo-Ojiisan standing there, with his arms folded against his chest, water dripping from his soaked hair and clothes. He sure as hell did not look happy. _What on earth is he doing here, _I thought.

I ran past Mr. Battalio's room and hugged Grandpa with one arm.

"Grandpa, what're you doing here?!" I exclaimed.

He put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Taylor, you need to get your stuff together."

Not knowing what to say, I just nodded and said, "Yes Grandpa."

I walked forward to my locker and unlocked my locker, grabbing my stuff to go home and shoving my elective stuff into my locker. Silently, I closed my locker and walked back over to Grandpa.

He grabbed my hand and we both hurried down the stairs. Broken glass littered the staircase and crunched beneath our feet as we walked down.

"Your arm..." he said. "Why is there dried blood on your arm?"

"Its alright, Grandpa. Just a scratch. Not like its an animal bite."

"Its more than a scratch Taylor!"

"Its just a scratch, Grandpa..."

I sighed and so did he.

"Never mind. We'll get it fixed later," he said. "But for now we need to get to a store. Wal-Mart in particular."

"Why?" I asked.

"We'll explain in the truck."

"We?"

"Yes, your father and I."

When we were around the corner, I got a clear view of the front foyer. A total wreck! Good Goddess, I think Lowgan's bedroom is spotless compared to the foyer! That shows how bad it was. Glass, leaves from the trees out front, twigs, random papers littered the floor. The big beach umbrellas were pushed into the cafeteria and the picnic tables were flipped over. Oh, and a few pieces of hail in a pear tree. Hah... Very funny Taylor, but you can't make that a version of "The 12 Days of Christmas". Yeah yeah yeah...

We walked out silently, just to be really careful. The glass crunched beneath our feet, the twigs snapped, and the papers just quietly rustled when we stepped on them.

When we got to the truck, we quickly got into it and buckled in. Of course, I saw Daddy in the front seat reading a Dean Koontz book and holding a few envelopes in his free hand. Go figure.

"$25,000 in that envelope," he said. "We are going to Wal-Mart and Michael's if you want to, Taylor. I saw the news this morning. $100 per cart no matter what was in it. Thankfully, your grandfather was home so we got into our cars and went to the bank. Then, we went to 7-11 and we filled our tanks. Four bucks a gallon already, but it doesn't matter. Then, we went home and I helped your grandfather get some boxes into the truck and we quickly wrote out a list of what we need and got into the truck and got you."

"Major blackout throughout the city," Grandpa said. "We think other cities are like that. Thankfully, we live on the hospital grid so we'll continue to have electricity as long as the hospital does. But we need food more than electricity."

Daddy nodded.

"So we're going to Wal-Mart. Taylor you are to get stuff from the health department, alright? Stuff we need like bandages, vitamins, hydrogen peroxide, toothbrushes, toothpaste, body wash, lotion, hair stuff... And get the stuff you need. Your grandfather and I will be in the food departments." he said.

"Thankfully hardly anyone ever goes to the one off of Dominion so we won't have much of a fight, unlike Battlefield. Battlefield's Wal-Mart is always full of people," Grandpa said. "Not going to deal with that today."

He thought for a moment.

"And would you like to stop off a Michael's since we're out?"

I nodded.

"Of course."

And, I'm not going to explain what happened so I can get to bed faster, but lets just say it was _fun_ and was better than writing down notes for history and doing review in math. Oh okay, I might as well tell... Not like Grandpa's awake right now so he can't catch me.

We got to the Wal-Mart off of Dominion and I went in first and grabbed a cart from the front. I ran in, pushing the cart to the health department. I grabbed vitamins and lots of razors and razor blades for us. If its the end of the world and we're all gonna die, I at least want smooth legs. Too much info, I know but hey, this is a journal. I can write whatever the hell I want! Then, I went over to the next section and grabbed... Girl stuff (what I mean by girl stuff is pads. I don't mean tampons. I say it like that because, I won't tell that much information. Sheesh. I know I just said it but I was explaining what I meant.). And by I grabbed girl stuff, I mean, I grabbed as many boxes of girl stuff as I could (Almost enough to last me a whole two years I hope!) and shoved them into the cart. I sighed when I realized I took up the whole cart. All those boxes of girl stuff will certainly last me a good while and thankfully I've got enough space in my closet for them all.

I ran my cart up to the front and set down a $100. I sat it down because it looked like people just threw money at the cashier, I gave him a break. He looked thankful for the break too. I smiled and ran the cart out the truck. Stupidly, I got up on the bottom part and rode it down to the truck.

"Weee," I said. "This battle lasted a whop- oh wait this isn't Rosario Vampire."

I stopped the cart before it could hit the truck and I stood by the truck, waiting for Grandpa to come. It was still raining, but not as hard as it was earlier. The lightning strikes were still rather close but at least the high winds and hail were done for the most part.

"I want you to put them into this box," he said.

I nodded and put it all into the box. Then, he locked the truck again and we both went back inside. I grabbed bandages and two bottles hydrogen peroxide, toothbrushes, toothpaste, lotion, body soap and hair soap, and anything else I thought we'd need, took the stuff outside to the truck after paying for them, and shoved them all into a box in the trunk.

"I got everything we needed from the health department," I said. "Is there anything else you guys want me to get?"

"Uhhmmm...," Grandpa thought for a moment. "Toilet paper. No matter what, that's important. Get as many bottles of water as you can in case we loose power."

"Grandpa, can I get some sweets?

"We'll be going to the Asian market, so we'll get sweets there."

"Hmm... Anything else?"

"Sanity?"

"Grandpa, you know they don't make that anymore," I said.

He chuckled.

"Ahh, well...," he said. "I don't really know. The rest of what we're getting is from the asian market so... Get anything you think we might need."

"Alright...," I said, running back into the store for water and toilet paper. When I got as much as I could, I payed for it and went back outside and shoved everything into a box.

"Alright, we're done here," Grandpa said.

Daddy nodded as he shoved everything he got into a box.

"Now, lets head to the asian market for the rest of our food that we love but can't get at Wal-Mart."

"Alright," Daddy and I said, going inside the truck.

Grandpa shut and locked the trunk, and went to get inside the truck. But before he could, someone attacked him from behind. I didn't hear what they were saying, but I just know Grandpa shot the guy in the arm and went into the truck.

"What was that about?" Daddy asked.

"Son of a bitch wanted me for the truck, and he wouldn't let me go so I shot him," Grandpa said.

"I see...," Daddy said.

"Ah, but it was in the arm so he ain't gonna die as long as he goes to the hospital," Grandpa said, turning the truck on and driving out.

He drove us to the asian market, where apparently we were the first ones there all day, and we got what we could. We got seaweed for onigiri and a ton of noodles. I grabbed all the miso packets because... well its miso! I love miso soup! We got as much as we could and payed up for what we got. Then, we went out to the car.

"We'll head back inside," Grandpa said, shoving everything we got into a box.

"Alright," Daddy and I said.

When Grandpa finished shoving everything into the box, we headed back inside. We got everything we could handle and payed for it. We then headed back outside and put them all into the same box with the first round of stuff we got.

Then, we hopped into the truck.

"Where to next...?" Grandpa asked.

"Lets see if the mall is open," I suggested. "There could possibly be things we need. Like, candles in case our power goes out."

"That is a great idea," Grandpa said. "I believe there's a garden shop in the mall so we should see if we can grow something in our backyard, though we've tried before and never worked out well. Lets hope it works this year though."

So he started driving toward the mall up in Greenbriar (not too far from the house) and I stared at the last $300 in my hands. When we got to the mall, we got out of the truck and went inside. Basically, we split up after we decided on meeting by the escalators, which of course weren't working. I took the escalators up to the Yankee Candle store. They were still open, so I went inside and looked around for some candles we could use. I found some lovely scents that were in a glass jar with the wick, so I grabbed a few of those and put them in a basket. Then, I grabbed a few incense that I liked and then payed for them, then I walked out. I looked around. There wasn't much open, but I thought a walk through the mall could somehow calm me down.

I found a few stores that were open, but had nothing of necessity. GameStop? We can't eat video games (yuck!). Build-A-Bear Workshop? Can't eat stuffed bears and can't drink them. I walked past a shop that carried batteries, so I grabbed a few packs of those. You can never be too careful. What if the electricity goes out? We'll need the batteries for the flashlights and the radio. I payed for those and hurried back down to the place by the escalators. Unfortunately, I was the first one done. I waited five minutes for Grandpa and Daddy to meet up with me. Daddy and Grandpa walked over to me with several strawberry flats.

"We're going to try to grow strawberries," Grandpa said. "Can't hurt to have strawberries."

"I hope they grow this time," I said.

"I hope so too," Grandpa said. "Now lets hurry out."

By this time, the trunk is really flipping full, so we put what we got on the two seats beside me and then drove home.

"We'll take this stuff all inside, and Kakashi will take you to Michael's, okay Taylor?" Grandpa asked.

"Yes Grandpa," I said.

So he drove us home. When we got home, we helped carry the boxes inside to the dining portion of the living room (we don't have a separate room for a dining room) and stacked them.

"You sure you don't want us to help out, putting them away?" Daddy asked.

"I'm quite sure, Kakashi. Taylor is an artist, you don't know when she'll want to draw something. If she doesn't have something to draw on, then she might go mad, although she's already mad."

I giggled a bit.

"Alright Dad," Daddy said.

"But, if you guys get home before I'm done, then y'all will help me with the rest," Grandpa said.

We nodded.

"Alright," Daddy said. "Come on Teira. Lets get going and lets hope Michael's has stuff still."

I nodded and we headed back out to Michael's. The parking lot was rather empty and quiet. There was like one car there plus Daddy's car. We walked inside and I started gathering sketchbooks and pencils. I filled an entire cart with sketchbooks that usually would cost nearly $25 (before this, I would never have gotten these sketchbooks because the price always pissed me off. I like spiral bound sketchbooks, but $25 was just not worth it to me. Now that the price doesn't matter, this is great!) and some of the sketchbooks I normally get. Then, I grabbed all the prismacolor pencils and sketching pencils. Oh yeah, I also grabbed several packs of mechanical pencils because mechanical pencils are great! Then, we went and payed for the supplies, then we headed out to the car and dumped everything into the box Daddy stuck in the trunk. Then, we went home.

When we got home, we put the box of my art stuff on the couch and helped Grandpa finish putting everything away. It was 2:45 in the afternoon when we finished, so Grandpa made us lunch.

"Taylor get into your karate uniform, I'm taking you to practice," Grandpa said an hour after lunch.

I nodded and went up into my room and put my uniform on. I ran back downstairs, excited. Yamato-Sensei must be back from his trip to Japan. I hope he brought me something back.

"Ahh my brown belt girl!" Daddy said. I blushed.

I recently became a brown belt in karate, and I'm aiming high for the black belt.

"I bet she'll become a black belt." he said.

Grandpa nodded.

"She will. There's no doubt about it son. It is in her blood," he said. "Hell, she may become the first Hatake to become a red belt if she tries hard enough."

"I wish I could go back to try for a red belt." Daddy said.

"I wish I could too but," Grandpa replied, looking out the window at the moon. The bright sunlight/moonlight that filtered through the window and made Grandpa's silver hair shine like the moon. "But these times are _totemo kureijī, _people are going to go crazy and Taylor is a young lady, and she needs to be prepared if a crazy person tries to attack. She needs it more than we do. Besides, I don't have enough money for all three of us to go, sadly enough."

"Man, that seriously sucks," Daddy said.

"I know, Kakashi."

I picked up a new sketchbook (a small one. About 7x8.5) and my pencil while Grandpa grabbed his keys off the kitchen/living room window thing.

"Alright, ready to go sweetie?" Grandpa asked.

I nodded.

"Ready whenever you are." I said.

He nodded.

"Good."

I hugged Daddy and we walked out. We got in the truck and Grandpa drove me to karate practice. I drew in the small sketchbook Grandpa in a karate uniform.

Martial arts is really, truly in my blood. Daddy, Grandpa Sakumo and Great-Grandpa Kumo all were in karate as kids. All of them got black belt by sixteen. And I'm close to it. So close.

When we got there, I got out of the truck and closed my door. I then followed Grandpa into the building. He sat down in the waiting/watching room, to watch me of course. I kicked off my sandals, Grandpa put them under his seat and pulled out his Stephen King book (the "Song of Susannah"). Slowly, I made my way into the _dōjō _and found Yamato-Sensei leaning against the wall, scanning the room. The light that filtered through the windows made his brown, spiky hair turn into a sun kissed brown color. He wore his usual uniform, a _gi_. White pants, white jacket, white undershirt, and a black belt. I walked over to him.

"_Konichiwa, Yamato-Sensei._" I said, bowing to him.

He glanced at me and smiled.

"_Konichiwa, Teira-Chan._" he replied to me, bowing back.

"How was your trip?" I asked.

"Very very good." he said. "Kazuhiko-Sempai loved your gift to him. He thought it was really really cute. _Totemo kawaii desu._"

I felt my face heat up. I looked at him and smiled.

"I'm glad he liked it Sensei." I said, grinning.

"I told him you love his music, so he told me to give this... to you." he said pulling something out from his white jacket.

He handed it to me and I grabbed it from him carefully. I looked at it. It was one of Kazuhiko Inoue's CDs, signed by him. I felt my face turn red and I glanced over my shoulder and looked at Grandpa. He was looking at me and looked like he was chuckling at me. I looked back at sensei and bowed.

"_Doumo arigato gozaimasu._" I thanked him.

"_Dou itashimashite._"

He smiled and I slid the CD into my jacket. I looked around.

"Hm," he said looking at his watch. "Its four thirty, and barely any of your classmates are here. Do you still want to continue today's lesson?"

I nodded.

"_Hai, Sensei._"

Friday, May 20,

This morning I woke to the sound of my door opening. Silently, I listened to the floor squeak. Moments later, I heard him switch off my alarm. Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked up at his pretty, light blue eyes, which were fixated on something outside.

"O...Otousan...?" I murmured.

He stopped looking outside, glanced at me and smiled reassuringly.

"Did I wake you?" he said in a soft, gentle whisper.

I nodded. Daddy grinned and brushed my bangs back.

"Sorry sweetie. The school called saying no school today," he said. "I thought I'd turn off your alarm for you and let you sleep in."

He ruffled my hair and smiled gently.

"So go back to sleep sweetie."

Putting his hand on my face, he kissed my cheek and stood up. He smiled and walked out of my room. I went back to sleep and woke up again around ten and got out of bed. I took a hot shower and went downstairs, only to see Grandpa home, making onigiri (rice balls basically) and miso soup.

On a usual school day, Grandpa always packs me and Lowgan Onigiri or sushi and some fruit (sometimes oranges, sometimes plums) and a small snack (cheez-its). And if you haven't noticed yet, we're Japanese-Americans who enjoy eating Japanese food. Whenever I look at American food I can feel my stomach churn. That's thanks to school lunches, which are the grossest things I have ever ate. Just disgusting! That's why Sakumo-Ojiisan packs my lunches, and Lowgan's as well since she's too lazy to pack her own damn lunch and her grandfather refuses to pack her lunch.

"Ah just in time for lunch," Grandpa said after looking at me. "Go sit down at the table and I'll serve you lunch."

I nodded and sat down criss-crossed at the table (A japanese style table that my great grandfather brought here from Japan).

Grandpa walked over and sat the bowl of miso and the small plate with onigiri down in front of me as Daddy walked down the stairs. He then handed me a pair of chopsticks for my onigiri and a spoon for my miso. I started eating.

"Good morning Taylor, I see you're awake." Daddy said as he walked into the living room.

I nodded.

"Got any plans for today?"

I shook my head.

"Not really." I said.

"How about going to go shoot some guns at targets?"

I nodded.

So after lunch, we went to the shooting range and shot some targets. I got to pretend the targets were the moon and I was the one shooting it.

Saturday, May 21,

I went to Lowgan's and hung out with her and her lazy ass cat Kirby, then went over to Brittany's and ran around the neighborhood. I think the people that were still in that neighborhood thought we were hyped up on sugar (which is actually kind of true, since Lowgan had some candy) and that we're crazy (I don't deny the fact I'm crazy). After that, I biked home and ate dinner.

After supper, the president went on TV. He didn't say much that we didn't know already. Countless people dead, tsunamis and tidal flooding. Monday is National day of Mourning and we need to pray a lot. Though, he did say, and believe me he did not look happy about it, that we needed to prepare ourselves for even worse. Also, he said that almost every offshore oil refinery was gone, and that it was believed most of the workers there had been lost at sea.

When the president finished, he said for the governors of each state would follow and that we should watch to see what ours had to say.

Our governor came on and he seriously looked unhappy about things as well. There was to be no school on Monday and Tuesday of this upcoming week, but some districts may be unable to reopen school. He also said that it may be a possibility that the state will have to start rationing gas. Until then, he asks for an honor system. Only get gas when you have less than a quarter tank. If any gas stations were found overcharging, they'd face serious consequences. That was what the Pennsylvania governor said too. I listened to the Michigan governor. He had almost the same thing to say. Hell, most of the state governors had the same thing to say really.

Monday, May 23,

National day of Mourning. This day meant that there were memorial services. There were lots of politicians and many sad songs. They're not giving a number for how many people died, but that's only because so many people are still dying. Most that have just recently died have drowned because they were stuck in traffic trying to evacuate their homes, some who died stayed when they had to evacuate and got swept away because of the tsunamis.

Daddy says we're pretty inland, so we don't have to worry much about it. I hope he's right.

Tuesday, May 24,

Today, Daddy decided it would be a great idea to see what stores are still open, so we hopped in the car and drove around. We looked around, looking for stores that would still be open. We didn't find anything till we headed back to the mall. Sears was still open, so we went inside. There was mostly clothes left.

"We'll need clothes, especially if it gets cold and we can't go to the store. Lets see what we can find," Daddy said.

I nodded and we looked around for clothes. I'm pretty picky about what I wear, so I only got clothes I liked and felt comfortable in. Most of those clothes were plain; black, white, green, red, orange, purple, yellow, blue, indigo. Half the clothes I got were long sleeved and the other half were short sleeved. I made sure I grabbed baggy jeans. Most girls don't wear baggy jeans, so I had to head over to the guy's section and get myself lots of jeans. I also grabbed some shirts meant for men, but were cool. Like the navy blue button down shirt. I got eight of those in long sleeves and short sleeves. Then, I grabbed the underclothes I surely would need, and then lots of socks. Can't go wrong with socks! We then payed for our clothes that we got (and we all have the same size (men's section) shirts. The stuff I got from the girl's section are what I wear that is my size.) and went back out.

"There's really not much open is there?" Daddy said after an hour of driving around.

"Not really." I said.

"Lets head home then," Daddy said.

"Yeah."

So, he drove us home.


	3. Three

Thursday, May 26,

We had gym outside today, and it was already 85 when we got out, which is hot to me. I was super exhausted after gym, since I had to run a mile. Yuck! Imagine how sweaty I was!

After gym, I went to Spanish class only to find out we're in the cafeteria. The no A/C at school makes it super hot in the portables, which made Mrs. German move class into the cafeteria today. _Hace muy calor hoy! _It is very hot today! I believe my grandfather would certainly agree with me at the moment...

After Spanish, I went upstairs for third bell and helped out at the merit store, using what we had left for stuff to buy. I got to take home a bag full of fireballs since no one really cares for those. Oh come on! They can clear out your sinuses! Oh well. Afterwards, we left our stuff in the room we were in and grabbed stuff for lunch. I grabbed my sketchbook and graphite pencils and my lunchbox (of course packed with Onigiri and some plums and cheez-its and water. Yummy lunch!). Then we lined up by the stairs. Silently, we went down the stairs and outside.

Being the kid I am, I hung out at the picnic table place under the shade when we got outside. Lowgan, Vanessa, Makayla, Katie, and Sofie all hung out at the swings while I drew in a big sketchbook that we got last week.

When I got home, I walked into the kitchen and started pouring myself a small bowl of Cheez-its. But then I heard a knock at the door. So, I put down the box and then I walked to the door and opened it. Brittany was standing right there. She looked nervous.

"Britt? What's up?" I asked.

"I'm moving," she said.

Glancing at her in slight shock, I tried to smile reassuringly to let her know I'm okay.

"Moving where?" I asked.

"New York."

_New York_, I thought. _Why up there?_

"Up north eh...," I said.

I shrugged.

"Well I wish you luck up north," I said.

She nodded and handed me a drawing and a photo.

"For you," she said in her usual shy voice.

I looked at the drawing first after taking it from her. It was me in my _gi_. Then I glanced at the photo. Us three; me, Lowgan, and Brittany. _Mis amigas._

I hugged Britt.

"Thank you Brittany," I said.

"No problem," she said hugging back. "Now I must go. I hope we meet again."

Without waiting for my response, she let go and turned around as Grandpa pulled into the driveway. She walked away. I left the door open for Grandpa and I sat the pictures down on the kitchen table. Grandpa walked in and took off his uniform shirt off.

"Goddamn its hot outside. It usually doesn't get as hot as it did today in May," he grumbled.

"The heat index was 105 degrees," I murmured, walking back into the kitchen.

I put the box of Cheez-its away and went into the living room with my small bowl of Cheez-its.

"So what was Brittany over for?" Grandpa asled.

"To tell me she's moving...," I said.

"Where to?"

"New York."

I turned on the TV.

"Oh well... Aren't you supposed to be studying for your math SOL?" he asked.

"No... No more SOL testing, remember?" I said.

"Oh yeah..."

I shrugged and continued watching TV. Well, what's left of the cable...

Saturday, May 28,

Grandpa went through his desk and organized it today, only to find the movie we made for the Movie Club in April.

"Taylor, guess what I found," Grandpa said.

"Uhmmm the flash drive that Daddy lost?" I asked.

"Nope, the movie y'all made for the Movie Club," he said, handing me the DVD disk.

"Holy _unchi_!" I exclaimed.

"You should get Lowgan so we can watch it together again," he said.

"The DVD player still works?"

"Duh, now go get Lowgan," he said.

So, I went out, hopped on my bike, and biked to her house. When I got to her house, I got off the bike and jumped up the stairs. Then, I knocked on the door. She answered.

"What?" she asked.

"We found the movie we made for the Movie Club," I said. "Grandpa suggested you come over so we can watch it together."

Lowgan looked at me, confused.

"Unless... you don't want to see yourself speaking Japanese," I grinned.

"That was fawking fun," she said. "Give me a moment to change bish."

She closed the door.

"Kay. Leave me out in the freaking sun," I said._  
_

She came back out a minute later.

"Alright, lets go."

So, I biked back home with her walking beside me.

"I've been wanting to rewatch that," Lowgan said.

"Its funny how it took a whole week for you to be able to say all your lines correctly," I said.

"Well, I'm not Japanese," Lowgan said.

"I know, but I told you a million times how to pronounce everything. The A's sound like "Ah", the E's sound like "Eh", the I's sound like "Ee", the O's sound like... well "Oh", and the U's sound like "Oo" but sometimes aren't pronounced like in '_desu_'. Its pronounced "dehss" not 'deh-soo'," I said.

"Ehhhhh!" Lowgan exclaimed.

We got to the house and we went inside.

"All ready?" Grandpa asked.

"Of course, Grandpa," I said.

"Alright," he said. "I'm still making the ramen so we won't be eating until the middle of the movie."

That movie was actually about thirty minutes long. We did a Japanese version of Star Trek (we were out of ideas so we picked Star Trek). The whole movie was made in Japanese, but we added subtitles because no one knows Japanese.

"Lets watch Star Trek: Kyoto," Grandpa grinned.

We both sat on the couch and watched as he put the movie in.

"I need to go tend to the ramen, so here," he handed me the remote.

I nodded.

"Alright."

I pressed play and it began. We watched it all the way through. Grandpa was the captain, Daddy was the commander, I was a bridge lieutenant, Lowgan played an ensign, and Yamato-Sensei played as the ship's doctor. Kenta-Sensei played as an engineer, and so did Vanessa. We added outtakes at the end because we had some really funny ones. I'm only going to write about the outtakes because those are really funny.

"Yes, Grandpa- Oh I mean Captain," I had messed up my line. "Redo!"

Next outtake.

Vanessa stared at my face with a straight face. After about a minute, I burst out laughing.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm staring down your soul... It looks very delicious. I wonder if your soul tastes like chocolate."

I laughed a bit harder than I should've when she said that. The camera shows Grandpa and Daddy both looking at each other.

"Oh myy," Grandpa said like George Takei, the man who played Hikaru Sulu in the original Star Trek. We all laughed really hard at that.

I just about choked on my ramen because I was laughing and eating at the same time. Not a very good combination if you ask me!

"What the hell?" Lowgan asked. "Are you choking?"

I giggled and choked a bit.

"N-Nope, I'm f-fine," I said.

The next outtake was me and the captain in the captain's tent.

"Kazue, I trust your guts, I really do. But, they aren't going to help us today, I'm sorry."

"Captain," I said. "What if my gut said that the... the... Hey what's my line?"

Outtake four.

"The weather forecast today on Romulus is mostly sunny skies with a 100% chance of destruction," I said to the camera. "Back to you Kai."

Vanessa came up behind me and choked me.

"DIE FOOLISH MORTAL," she said.

"Okay..." I said.

Outtake five.

"I decided I would go to the other side of this clearing by going under a Romulan," I said, going under Miguel, who played a bad ass Romulan. Nope, that didn't work the way I thought it would.

"Well, that certainly didn't go so well," I said, crawling to the other side.

Everyone just laughed a bit.

Outtake six. I just went up to the camera and stuck my tongue out.

Outtake seven. I pointed my phaser at Miguel and said, "I am Lieutenant Commander Kazue Akiyama. What is your name?"

Miguel said, "K'els... K'els... ummm..."

The outtake quickly changed to the eighth one. I walked back to the clearing and everyone went silent.

"Why's everyone so quiet?" I asked.

"Cause, we forgot our lines again," Grandpa said.

I rolled my eyes and I put my hands on my hips.

"Wow... Stop forgetting y'all's lines for Goddess's sake!" I said.

That was the last one. If your curious to know how we did it, basically we taped the entire thing in a forest nearby. We were on an away mission and the shuttle crashed onto Romulus by accident. It was interesting, and our movie was actually the best out of the entire club.

As I sit here writing this, I smile back on when we showed the movie that day. Everyone loved it, and they thought the outtakes were pretty funny too. That was fun.

After the movie, Lowgan went back home and I watched "My Neighbor Totoro". And well, that's how my day went...

Monday, May 30,

Not a great morning. I didn't sleep well last night after a terrible nightmare. I woke up screaming my head off in the middle of the night and Daddy and Grandpa both ran into my room. Both of them looked worried.

"Wha-What's wrong sweetie?" Grandpa asked.

I sat up as they sat down beside me and put their arms around me comfortingly.

"A-A nightmare..." I stammered.

"Tell us?"

I grimaced at the thought of telling them, but I did anyway. All I really remember is that Daddy and Grandpa that got shot in the head and died. A few days later they appeared outside with me as I walked over to Charlene's house. I looked at them and their eyes were a blood red color. They looked a bit like zombies. They both accused me of killing them, but I didn't kill them. They tried to kill me and they did. Daddy went after my head and sliced it off, and I woke up screaming.

Screwed up dream right?

After I told Daddy and Grandpa, both of them hugged me and tried to calm me down before I get sick to my stomach from the dream and throw up. If you can't tell, I have a weak stomach. Certain sights and scents will make me throw up.

When it was time to go to school, I was really sick to my stomach. I barely made it past bell one before I threw up. You can imagine how Grandpa felt when he had to come pick me up again. He wasn't too happy, but as always, he was understanding. He took me home and made me some miso soup for lunch and made a tea that was supposed to help with my upset stomach. Daddy dragged down the shogi board and we played that together.

Off to bed, and hopefully I have good dreams.

Thursday, June 2,

Today was a half day at school. It made me sad, like usual. Only I actually started crying because I love my teachers here. They all were nice to me, and I'll miss both the Mr. Riberdys the most... All we did was get candy from our teachers, give each other hugs, and wish each other luck to survive the summer.

I biked over to Lowgan's house today to ask if she wanted to go to the shooting range... since the phones aren't working much.

As I biked, I glanced at the moon every few moments. So beautiful, but its a danger that looms in the sky. So far I've heard millions of people have died across the world by flooding caused by tsunamis and the tides. Both the west coast and the east coasts were flooded out. The islands in the Caribbean were left devastated and/or drowned by the tsunamis. Bermuda. Cuba. La Republica Dominicana. Haiti. Puerto Rico. The coast of Florida. All gone.

I thought about that, and I regret that because I lost balance and fell off my bike. I cried out and sat up on the ground to see my wounds. My hands were scraped, and my knee was scraped, but was bleeding. I got back up, and continued biking over to Lowgan's house, which really wasn't that far. When I got to her house I sat my bike down and walked up the porch to the front door. I knocked and heard Peanut barking her head off.

"Peanut..." I grumbled.

Lowgan opened the door and stared at me like I'm crazy.

"Question mark...?" she said.

"Wanna go to the shooting range with my grandfather and I?" I asked.

"I can't... sorry..."

"Alright..."

Kirby tried to get out.

"Kirby, no, get your fat ass back in here boy." Lowgan said, picking him up.

"So I guess I'll be going now..." I said, turning around.

"See ya."

She closed the door and I jumped off her porch and got onto my bike and biked home.

When I got home I was exhausted.

"I am never doing this in the middle of the day again." I said to Grandpa when i got inside.

I dragged my bike inside and put it in the garage.

"Where's Lowgan?" he asked.

"She couldn't come," I said.

"She probably said that because she is "too lazy" to come over," Grandpa said. "So lets watch a movie because its too hot to go to the shooting range anyway... I just checked the weather because I realized how hot it was outside."

So Grandpa randomly chose a movie (Which happened to be "Howl's Moving Castle".) and he put it in. I sat down on the couch with him and snuggled against him.

So after the movie, Grandpa fixed me a small snack (Onigiri of course) and after I ate, Daddy came downstairs from whatever he was doing up there (reading is my guess) and walked into the living room.

"How about some karate practice with your father?" he suggested.

"Yeah, good idea son," Grandpa said.

"Taylor go put on your uniform," Daddy said.

I nodded and bowed, then I headed upstairs. I went into my room and changed into my uniform and looked around for a moment.

I spotted my Katana, mounted on the wall. The katana was my great-great-great grandfather's katana. The katana is about two meters long, give or take a few inches. Its handle is black and has crimson wrappings on the handle for a good grip. On the sliver blade, my great-great-great grandfather's name is engraved. Sarumaru Hatake. Grandpa Sakumo has a painting of Great-Great-Great Grandpa Sarumaru hidden some where in his room. From my memory of the picture, Sarumaru looked a lot like my father. But he had grey eyes and darker skin, tan I think. Sarumaru wore a red samurai uniform and his hair was long. Longer than Grandpa Sakumo's hair.

I stared at the katana for a moment. The katana had been passed down from generation to generation. Now its mine.

"Taylor?" Grandpa asked as he walked in in his uniform. "You ready?"

I nodded and followed him downstairs. I grinned at the sight of Daddy in his uniform.

"I'm so glad you bought my uniform in your size when I was twelve Dad." Daddy said.

Grandpa chuckled.

"I thought you would be about my height and weight when you were grown up..." he said. "And I figured if you had children you'd want your gi and spar with them if they were in karate."

He thought for a moment.

"Funny how my father did the same thing to me." he said. "Kumo basically did the same thing I did to you, Kakashi. He knew I was going to be a tall person, so bought me my gi in the same size I am right now. Go figure!"

We all kind of giggled at that. Grandpa grabbed his karate jacket off the back of his desk chair and put it on, closing the jacket up by putting his black belt on. I grabbed a hair tie from the kitchen window and I tied my hair back. Then, Daddy and I walked to the middle of the living room and faced each other. Grandpa stoof on the side.

"Kakashi, Taylor, go!" Grandpa said.

Daddy and I both bowed and got into a fighting position. I took in a deep breath and started punching him. He defended himself, blocking off my attacks to his face. Unexpected to my father, I kicked him in the stomach and he fell back. Daddy let out a soft groan and got back up. He kicked me back, but I dodged him. I kicked his legs and knocked him back over. He sat there and kicked me and I fell flat on my ass. Oh yeah that was nice. A boney ass hitting hardwood floor. Lovely.

Standing up, I punched Daddy in the face and we all heard a cracking sound. I gasped. Daddy covered his nose with a hand and held out his other hand like he was trying to stop me.

"Wait! Taylor do not hit me again," he said sitting down in his chair, which was moved over to near the kitchen. "Holy crap, I think you broke my nose!"

Grandpa ran over and knelt down beside him. I felt kind of guilty as I watched.

"Oh geez." Grandpa said.

He pressed his fingers against Daddy's nose, which was bleeding. A few years ago, he taught me that a bloody nose doesn't always mean a broken nose. He's weird in a good way, he can sometimes tell whether or not someone has a broken bone. Usually, its because he pays attention to detail very well. Swelling, throbbing, bruising, usually means the limb was sprained. Sometimes swelling occurs in bone fractures, but one of the symptoms is muscle spasms.

Daddy cried out in pain.

"Ow ow ow! Otousan stop!" he cried.

"Taylor get your father some tissues," Grandpa said.

"Yes, Grandpa."

I went over to the coffee table and grabbed the tissue box and brought it back over.

Handing it to Daddy, I said, "I'm sorry Daddy if I broke your nose..."

"Its alright." he said, taking the tissues from me.

Tilting his head back, he took a tissue and covered his nose with the tissue. He sat there trying to keep from crying from the pain. I could tell he was in a lot of pain.

"Are you okay at all?" I asked.

Trying to smile, he said, "I'll be alright sweetie..."

He chuckled.

"But damn, that was a good match."

I blushed.

"R-Really?" I asked.

"Of course," he said. "You just beat a black belt at his own game."

"Yeah, only because I broke your nose silly Daddy," I said. "It only ended because of that."

"Yeah, perhaps I'll get you next time." he said.

I smiled in satisfaction.

"That next time won't be until your nose heals." Grandpa said.

Daddy switched his tissue out and covered his nose with two more.

"I know.. Dad..." he said, his light blue eyes brightening up with pride.

After about five minutes, Daddy stood up and bear-hugged me.

"Erg...," I groaned. "My back..."

"Oh let her go Kakashi," Grandpa said.

"Yes father...," Daddy said.

"Oh look at the time! Time to take her to Karate practice," Grandpa said.

He walked over to his desk chair and switched his karate jacket out for his plain black button-down shirt. He looked at his pants.

"Meh not like anyone will care if I wear my karate pants...," he said.

We all laughed and then we went outside in the hot, spring weather, and Grandpa drove me to practice.

Saturday, June 4,

What a hot and muggy day! It was about 110 degrees with a heat index of 115 degrees! Good Goddess!

Sadly we didn't eat much today. I guess none of us were hungry, but we sure were thirsty even though we were home in the nice, cool A/C. I feel sorry for those without power... they must not be too happy with the hot Virginian spring weather. I hope the power returns to those homes who are stuck without it.


	4. Four

Thursday, June 9,

You know how I broke my father's nose the other day? I feel like I got hit by karma because today, I slipped on the stairs and twisted my ankle.  
"Aa!" I cried, feeling a sharp pain shoot up my ankle.  
Daddy ran over to me.  
"Taylor are you okay?!" he asked in a worried tone.  
I shook my head quickly.  
"My ankle hurts..." I whined. "I think I twisted my ankle..."  
Daddy picked me up off the floor and carried me into the living room. Perhaps it was the way I ran down the stairs that made me fall and hurt myself.  
"Your grandfather should be home within the hour. He'll be able to determine whether or not your ankle is sprained or broken." Daddy said, laying me down on the couch. "Hm... I'll get an icepack... I"ll put pressure on it because I can keep pressure longer than you can."

I nodded.  
"Yes Daddy..." I said.  
Daddy stood up and went into the kitchen and grabbed an icepack. He came back and knelt down by my foot, putting it on my ankle. He held it there until Grandpa got home. I almost fell asleep (because Daddy totally forgot to put the TV on and he was no where near the remote) and when the front door opened, I jumped. The door closes and I watched as Grandpa walked in. He took off his shirt.  
"Uh... what the hell happened?" he asked.  
"She fell down the stairs and she hurt her foot." Daddy explained.  
"How?"  
"She probably ran down them wrong."

Sighing heavily, Grandpa knelt down beside Daddy and he carefully removed the icepack, only to reveal a nasty looking bruise.  
"Owch." all three of us said at once. None of us said, "JINX".  
Grandpa didn't have to do anything, he knew at once I had a twisted ankle. That's his natural talent; he can tell if someone has a broken foot or twisted limb. He says he uses clues like bruising or swelling to determine it.  
"Aa Migami-Sama!" he exclaimed. "Good Goddess!"  
He shook his head and stood up.  
"I'll have to tell Yamato-Sensei you won't be going to class today, or next Thursday for that matter." he said.  
I sighed softly.  
"Now Kakashi go get the bandages from the upstairs bathroom."  
"Hai... otousan...

Daddy went upstairs and came back a few minutes later with the bandages. He tossed it to Grandpa and Grandpa started wrapping my foot up.  
"You are not permitted to move around. The only times you may move around is when you go take a shower or to go to the bathroom. Either your father or I will bring you upstairs to your room or downstairs to hang out with us." Grandpa said.  
"Just think about it like this, Taylor, you get to boss us around!" Daddy grinned.  
I giggled.  
"Alright then, Otousan get your ass in the kitchen and make me a cup of tea... _onegai_?" I said.  
Daddy looked slightly shocked at what I said, which made us burst out laughing.  
"Taylor Hatake!" he exclaimed, and he started laughing. "Dammit Taylor!"  
I grinned.  
"I said onegai!"  
"Just go get her some tea, Kakashi." Grandpa said.  
"Arigatou gozaimasu otousan!" I said.  
"Dou itashimashite." he said, wearily walking into the kitchen to make me some tea.

Friday, June 10,

Today was fun...ish. I got out of the shower this morning, did anything I needed to do like put on some clothes and brush my teeth, and I walked out of the bathroom, and Daddy was standing there, ready to pick me up and take me downstairs. That's of course what he did. Smiling, he carried me downstairs and into the living room.  
"O-Ohayo... G-Gozaimasu?" I said.  
"Ohayo Gozaimasu Teira!" Daddy said.  
_Well damn_, I thought, _he seems pretty damn happy today. What the hell.  
_He turned around and picked something up from the table. It was a sketchbook.  
"Look at what I drew," Daddy said, handing it to me.  
I looked. It looked like some sort of forest. There were faeries and dragons flying around. There was a small, full moon in the corner. Tiny little stars in the background. All shaded in pencil.  
"You didn't know I could do that now did you?" he grinned. "I spent the entire night, drawing and shading that picture. It was a huge pain in the ass but I did it."  
I smiled softly.  
"Sugoi desu, otousan!" I said.  
"Doumo," he said.  
"Dou itashimashite." I said.  
I watched as his blue eyes brighten up and as he smiled.  
"Aww your eyes brighten up when you're happy." Daddy said. "I never noticed that before. How cute."  
I smiled.

Later on today, Lowgan got off her lazy ass and come over to my house.  
"Lowgan...?" my father said when he opened the door and saw her. "Haha nice to see ya. Come on into the nice cold air!"  
Lowgan took off her shoes and walked in. I quickly stood up and I limped over to her and hugged her.  
"Whoa bro, whoa bro." she said. "why were you limping...?"  
"Karma." I said.  
"Question mark...?"  
"She punched me in the face because we were doing Karate inside the house and a few days later she fell down the stairs and twisted her ankle." Daddy explained.  
He added sternly, "And she shouldn't be standing right now!"

Oops... I totally forgot.  
"Gomen gome..." I said, scratching the back of my head nervously.  
I laid back down on the couch. Lowgan laughed.  
"Haha karma got you..." she said.  
I stuck my tongue out at her.  
"Want anything to drink? Water? Tea? Orange Juice?" Daddy asked.  
"Water."  
"And Taylor?"  
"Water please Daddy."

Daddy then went into the kitchen and made us a glass of water, just as Grandpa walked through the front door.  
"Kakashi from now on we must boil our water." he said.  
"Why?" the three of us asked.  
Grandpa looked at Lowgan.  
"Oh hi Lowgan." he said.  
"Why?" Daddy repeated.  
"Cholera." Grandpa said. "We just got word of it today."  
"Well then I'll go boil the water." sighed Daddy.

Grandpa sighed as he sat down.  
"Any more news?" I asked.  
"Mosquitos are multiplying like crazy, so from now on guys, wear insect repellant. West Nile has been going around from what I heard." he replied, taking off his shirt to reveal his white undershirt.  
"Yeah... I've noticed that... The mosquitos I mean." Daddy said.  
"Also, we have a curfew. We cannot be outside past 8pm and before 6am." Grandpa continued, giving us all a serious look. "If you are caught out past curfew you will be shot."  
All of us nodded. When the water stopped boiling, Daddy took it and poured Lowgan and I a glass of hot water. I sat up straight so I can drink it when Daddy came over and handed us a glass of water. We all sat in silence until Lowgan finished her water.  
"I need to go over to Hailey's house," she said. "see y'all later."  
We all waved and she left after putting her shoes on.

It was nice to have her over today...

Monday, June 13,

Yamato-Sensei payed me a visit today, which totally surprised me. Basically he just wanted to know if I'm okay. Only reason why he came over, really, was because phones aren't working, but Grandpa offered him dinner so he stayed for that. It was kind of nice of him to come over today to see if I'm okay.

Tuesday, June 14,

I went online today, only to find a list of the dead. Out of curiosity, I tried to find anyone I knew. I was surprised when I saw my friend Chey, Makayla, and my fifth grade teacher on the list.

That list fucking ruined my day.

I'm never going on the internet again...

* * *

Japanese terms:  
Gomen: Sorry  
Sugoi desu: its awesome  
Doumo: Thanks  
Ohayo Gozaimasu: Good Morning  
Dou Itashimashite: You're Welcome  
Aa Migami-Sama: Oh my goddess!


	5. Five

Thursday, June 16,

Grandpa Sakumo came home with slurpees today. That was just awesome.  
"I have slurpees," he said, handing me a cup filled with cherry slurpee.  
I took the cup in shock.  
"How did you...?"  
"7-11 is still open. Well wait, let me rephrase that. All the 7-11s on the hospital grid have electricity are open." he said. "And still making slurpees."

He paused.  
"Where is your father...?"  
"He's in the shower..." I said slowly.  
"No I just got out silly child." Daddy said jumping off the stairs. "what's up Dad?"  
Grandpa turned to Daddy and handed him a cup filled with slurpee.  
"Slurpee?" he asked.  
Daddy took it.  
"How did you..."  
"The 7-11s on the hospital grid have power so they're still making slurpees, Chief Grant said. So after work, I went and got us slurpees."  
Daddy took a sip from the cup and sat down.  
"Doumo otousan." he said.  
"Arigatou gozaimasu ojiisan." I said, smiling.  
"You guys are very welcome." he said, smiling as well, taking a sip from his slurpee cup.

Friday, June 17,

Grandpa's birthday was today. Daddy cooked his favorite food; miso and teriyaki marinated salmon. I drew him in many different poses the other day, so I gave that to him for his birthday.

Sunday, June 19,

Father's day. I had a picture of Daddy and Grandpa painted a few weeks ago for father's day. They both loved it. As a bonus, I tried walking up the stairs today, but I sadly only made it to the third step. Hey at least I tried.

Monday, June 20,

Grandpa came home in a terrible mood today. He said it was because he didn't get any sleep the night before so we ate dinner and he went up to his room early. Daddy then brought me upstairs a few hours later and laid me down on my bed. I got ready for bed and crashed.

Wednesday, June 22,

Last night, I woke up from a nightmare, and I couldn't get back to sleep. So I got up and I limped into Grandpa's room, only to find him meditating in his bed. Nice, calm, instrumental music played as he meditated. I knocked on his door softly.  
"Grandpa...?" I murmured.  
He opened one eye and looked at me.  
"Taylor what in the hell are you doing up at this hour?" he asked.  
"I woke up from a nightmare about an hour ago and I can't get back to sleep..." I said shyly.  
He sighed heavily and scooted over for me to sit down beside him.  
"I'll help you get to sleep." he said. "come sit down beside me."

I nodded and sat down beside him.  
"Sit like me; cross your legs."  
I did what he told me.  
"Close your eyes and breathe slowly."  
I nodded and closed my eyes and I breathed in slowly.  
"Now... Just relax..." he said.  
I soon felt myself start to relax.  
"Now I'll be back with some tea to help put you to sleep." he said.

This is usually how we deal with not being able to sleep. Meditation and tea. I think he once said his father, Kumo, had taught him a bit of meditation and tea like Camomile tea are very helpful when it comes to sleep. I guess he has a good point.

When Grandpa came back, he tapped my shoulder. I opened my eyes and looked up at him. He handed me the glass of hot tea and smiled.  
"Here you go." he said.  
"Th-Thank you..." I whispered.  
"You're welcome." he said, sitting back down.  
He went back to meditating and I started to feel tired, but not enough to fall asleep without any problems.

I drank my tea silently and occasionally I would glance at Grandpa occasionally and found he was totally relaxed. His breathing was slow and deep and whenever he'd speak to me, I could tell he was content.  
"Are you okay? You still with me?" he'd ask.  
"Yeah, I'm still here Sakumo-Ojiisan." I'd reply.  
"Alright." he'd say, going back to meditating. I usually took his "Alright" as "Thank the Goddess I don't have to carry her back into her room quite yet. But actually, when I finally fell asleep, Grandpa didn't carry me into my room. I know he just laid me down onto the bed and go to sleep himself.

Then, this morning I woke up in his bed, sunlight filtering though his blinds. It was weird waking up in his bed. I actually thought I was in my bed until I opened my eyes enough to look around. I have a purple cherry blossom comforter, Grandpa has a light blue comforter with snow flakes. That's the best way I know I'm in his room, other than his walls being completely white, with not much decor. The only things he has hung up on his wall is a picture of him, Daddy, and me when I was a baby and a picture of him, Hana-Obaasan, and Daddy as a baby. In my room, I have a poster with Kazuhiko Inoue on it, a picture of me, daddy and grandpa, and several other things. So I knew I was in his room.

I stood up and stretched just as Grandpa came up the stairs. He walked in and looked at me.  
"Oh I was just going to wake you up for lunch, but since you're up..." he said, holding his arms out to pick me up. "Come on, I'll take you downstairs."  
Walking into his arms, he picked me up and carried me downstairs. Slowly and calmly, I breathed in his scent.  
"How did you sleep?" he asked.  
"I slept well, thanks to your help." I said. "The mediation and the tea helped. Arigatou gozaimasu."  
"Dou Itashimashite." he said, smiling.

For the first time in a few weeks, his smile seemed more joyful than he was on Dia De Compras Loca.

His smile made me smile.

Saturday, June 25,

Today was terrible. First I fall down the stairs again and I hurt my foot again, making me unable to get up. Daddy and Grandpa were at the shooting range so I had to wait about an hour for them to come home. I probably could've gotten up, but I was afraid I'd hurt myself even further.

By the time they got home, I had to use the bathroom real bad. Walking in, Grandpa saw me and ran to me and picked me up by my wrist.  
"oww ow ow Grandpa let me go!" I cried.  
"What happened?" he growled.  
"Let me go! I have to use the bathroom, I can't hold it at all!" I exclaimed.  
"Fine..." he said, setting me down by the bathroom.  
I went inside to relieve myself.

When I got out, Grandpa brought me into the living room and sat me on the couch.  
"What the hell happened?!" he exclaimed.  
"I tried to go downstairs to get something to drink and I slipped and fell down..." I said. "I know you told me to stay in bed but I was super thirsty because I drank all my water... I'm sorry Grandpa. It won't happen again, I promise."  
"Sorry isn't going to cut it!" he shouted. "I told you specifically not to go downstairs for any reason at all. Now your foot is hurt again and you're missing out on your karate lessons!"  
"Grandpa!" I cried. "I was thirsty. It couldn't have waited till you guys got home."  
For the first time in his life, Grandpa smacked me across my face.  
"Don't back talk me!" he yelled.

I started crying and I got up and speed limped up the stairs. I went up into my room and slammed the door shut. Sliding down to the floor, I sobbed.

It wasn't my fault I was thirsty... right? I didn't think I could last an hour without water so I had to go downstairs.

After sobbing, I got up and went to bed, missing out on dinner.

I went to bed angry, sad, thirsty, and hungry, and slept without a dream to make me happy.

Sunday, June 26,

This morning, Grandpa walked into my room and apologized.  
"Taylor...?" he said because he needed to know whether or not to wake me up.  
I hid my face in my pillow.  
"Go away..." I grumbled.  
I felt him sit down beside me and he put his hand on my back.  
"I'm sorry I yelled at you and slapped you yesterday..." Grandpa said. "its just... I've been in a bad mood lately..."

I sat up and he handed me a glass of water.  
"Drink it, you need it." he said.  
I took it.  
"Doumo..." I whispered.  
He slouched over and put his hands together and rested his elbows on his knees and rested his forehead on his hands. Grandpa sighed.  
"Lately I've been hearing rumors going around the department that they're thinking about making the officers with children go home and stay home to protect them. I know I'm one of the officers with kids -you and Kakashi- so I'll have to stay home until things get better. I'm happy with that except..."  
He sighed.  
"I don't know... I guess I just feel like... Feel like I need to work. I like to work, I always have." he said.

Grandpa looked up at me with his dark blue eyes and tried to smile.  
"Don't mind me, sweetie." he said. "All I really wanted to say was, I'm sorry I yelled and slapped you, and I know its not your fault. Alright?"  
I nodded, tears streaming down my face. Grandpa gently wiped my tears away and kissed me on my cheek.  
He stood up and picked me up.  
"Now, lets go downstairs and I'll fix us lunch and I'll fix up your ankle again." he said, smiling.


	6. Six

Tuesday, June 28,

Yamato-Sensei came over today to see me. Oddly enough he looked a bit thinner than when I had seen him last, but he seemed pretty happy to see me.  
"Hello, Teira-San." he said when he walked into the living room.  
Daddy followed behind him.  
"I suppose you're doing well?" he asked.  
I looked at my foot and back up at him.  
"Yeah I guess..." I said. "But I hurt my ankle again, but not as bad as last time, so I should be back next Thursday,"  
"If we can keep her off her feet for as long as possible." Daddy said.

He smiled.  
"But yes, she should be back next week."  
"Very well." Yamato-Sensei said. "Oh! Kakashi, I have something for you guys."  
He handed Daddy a small bag and he looked inside.  
"Miso..." he said. "Miso and rice... Y-Yamato-Sama, wh-why are you giving us this?"  
Yamato-sensei smiled softly.  
"I have plenty more at home," he said. "Besides... You guys need more food than I do. I don't have a child, you guys do. Its for her to survive."  
Daddy bowed.  
"Thank you so much Yamato-Sama." he said.  
"You've very welcome." replied Yamato-Sensei.

Saturday, July 2,

I haven't been feeling very well lately. Perhaps its the fact I haven't done karate in a few week and that I miss it. Perhaps I just want to get outside the house for some fresh air. But, I decided not to go outside for fresh air. Instead, Daddy and I battled on Pokemon.  
"You're so gonna loose to my water type." I'd say.  
"I know but its fun to battle on Pokemon. Ahhh wrong move!" he'd say.  
Basically, that's all we did today. But it was fun, really.

Sunday, July 3,

Lowgan came over today, but seemed a tad worried.  
"Last night, my grandpa came home with a gun and hid it.." she said. "I asked him why but he didn't tell me why he had it."  
"That does sound a bit suspicious." Grandpa said. "But I don't think we have to worry though. I think he's going to protect you with that gun..."  
I hope he's right because I don't want my best friend dead.

Monday, July 4,

Happy fourth of July!

My morning was interesting. I slept in till ten in the morning, then I tried walking down the stairs, only to have Daddy walking up at the same time so I ended up running into him. We almost fell, but he kept his grip on the railing tight. Once he knew he wouldn't fall, he picked me up.  
"S-Sorry Daddy." I said.  
Daddy smiled.  
"Its alright sweetie." he said.  
Grandpa had the day off so he made us lunch, which Daddy didn't eat. He loves Grandpa's cooling, but he sometimes feels if he eats less, then I'll have a better chance of survival. I kinda disagree with him, but I didn't say anything. I love him, I really do.

Thursday, July 7,

Grandpa said I can do karate today, but I have to go easy still. He told Yamato-Sensei, that I need to go easy today, but I can do a bit of fighting.

To Yamato-Sensei, that meant going over the basics. But I talked him into letting me break some concrete bricks. That was fun for me. At least I got to do something fun today.

When I got home, Grandpa made me sit down and rest. He brought me some dinner (A small bowl of rice and a bit of plum on the top) and so I ate sitting on the couch. And after dinner, Daddy carried me upstairs and I did my normal nightly stuff and went straight to bed.

Friday, July 8,

I couldn't get to sleep last night so I woke up Grandpa and he went downstairs and made me tea while I meditated. He came back and gave me the tea. I drank it and fell asleep. I woke up around twelve in the afternoon in my bed somehow. I got up and took a shower, which made me sleepy again so I went back to bed and didn't eat anything today because I was so tired.  
Its amazing how I am writing this right now. I better go to bed again till everyone wakes up.

Saturday, July 9,

Why did I sleep all day yesterday? It only sent Daddy into panic mode and force me to eat! He made me miso and fed it to me because he knew if he gave it to me to eat myself, I wouldn't eat it. Not exactly true, I'd eat half of the soup and then give it to him to finish. But anyway, Daddy fed me (honestly it was awkward but I went with it to humor him), then we played Pokemon to pass some time.

Grandpa came home a few hours later, and was a bit annoyed.  
"The rumors were true," he said. "Chief Grant says I have to stay home so I can protect you guys. So I'm off the force until things get better."

He sighed.  
"Come on Taylor, lets see your foot." Grandpa said.  
I glanced up at him. He was serious. I sighed and rolled up my pant leg and unwrapped my foot. The bruising seems to be gone and the swelling has gone down a lot, but my foot is still a bit swelled up.  
"You should be walking again by Monday." he said.  
I nodded.  
"Yes Grandpa." I said.  
He smiled and kissed me on my forehead.

Sunday, July 10,

I stayed in my room today and drew in my sketchbook. Grandpa came upstairs and brought me a small bowl of miso so I can eat. Then he watched me eat to make sure I ate and also stayed in my room to watch me draw for awhile. Then he went downstairs to go make dinner for him and Daddy. Now I'm going to sleep...

Monday, July 11,

Daddy made me walk up the stairs today. I walked, he followed. He wanted to make sure I don't fall down. I made it without an accident. That's good.

Tuesday, July 12,

Something was wrong, I could sense it. I looked out my window and saw the sky was grey. Hm... _Are thunderstorms in the forecast today_, I thought. Sighing, I took my shower and went downstairs. I walked slowly, ignoring the squeaky steps. Stopping near the rail on the left where they could perhaps see me through the spaced out wood that holds the rail up, I listened to the soft murmurs coming from the kitchen. I only caught important things.  
"It got worse...?"  
"Crops... dying... From what I've heard. Volcanoes... lots of ash in the air... no sunlight..."  
I continued down and jumped off the stair that turns.  
"Ohayo gozaimasu." I said, walking into the living room.  
Grandpa and Daddy both looked up at me.  
"Good morning," they said.  
"What's up? Something seems to be bothering you guys." I asked.

They looked at each other, then bac at me.  
"Take a look outside... Tell us what you see." Grandpa said.  
I glanced out the window. It seemed the same as when I looked at it twenty minutes ago.  
"Cloudy sky?" I asked.  
Grandpa shook his head quickly.  
"No, it is not cloudy outside. That's volcanic ash." he said.  
I looked at them.  
"Volcanic ash?" I asked.  
"Volcanoes all over the earth have been erupting. The gravitational pull from the moon is great enough to pull on the mantle below the crust and it is causing volcanoes to erupt. Dormant volcanos are erupting. Take Mt. Rainier for example, has blown his top off already. Yellowstone blew -how we are alive surprises even me- and new volcanoes have formed." Grandpa said.  
"And we won't be getting the sun back anytime soon. Not in your grandfather's lifetime, and not even in my lifetime. Hell, probably not yours either." Daddy added.

I was speechless for a moment.

Volcanic ash that won't clear up anytime soon. Dormant volcanoes erupting. New volcanoes forming and erupting. Add in the tsunamis, the flooding, and the earthquakes and you get mass extinction!  
"Holy... shit..." I managed to say. "just..."  
Grandpa closed his eyes and nodded softly.  
"Its a lot to take in, ain't it. But we all know its true." he said calmly.  
He opened his eyes and looked at me with his gentle, soft, blue eyes. Grandpa smiled and gestured for a hug. I walked over and sat down, and snuggled against him.  
"Awww..." he chuckled.  
"Aww Dad can I snuggle with you too?" Daddy asked.  
Grandpa chuckled again.  
"Son aren't you too old to snuggle with your father?" he asked. "besides, you're too tall for me."

I giggled.  
"Dad, I'm only 34 and 6'1"!" Daddy exclaimed.  
"Too old and too tall." Grandpa grinned.  
I giggled even more.  
"Fine then I want to snuggle my daughter."  
"Fine."  
I sighed and went over to Daddy and snuggled against him. He hugged me close to him, his head rested on mine.

The world perhaps is ending, but snuggling always makes things better in my opinion.

Friday, July 15,

Worst. Day. Ever.

I walked over to Lowgan's house today, thinking nothing bad would happen. She answered the door, we went inside. We went into her room and talked for awhile while petting Kirby. After awhile, I went into her bathroom to do my business (I have no other word for that. I really don't haha!) Not two minutes later, I hear a gunshot. I panicked and washed my hands and I ran out into Lowgan's room.  
"Lowgan!" I exclaimed.  
She was on the floor, blood gushing out of a gunshot wound on her chest. Her Gator Team from sixth grade shirt slowly getting ruined by the blood. I stared at her, fear pulsing through my body.  
"Oh my... goddess..." I said, shaking. "Lowgan..."

I crouched down beside her and I put my hand on her chest and I put my hands on her chest, applying pressure. I trembled as I used my strength to apply the pressure to her wound.  
"Don't...bother..." Lowgan said hoarsely.  
I shook my head.  
"I won't give up." I said. "I don't give up on my friends, not ever! You aren't going to die."  
"Tei...ra..." she said. "I want to hear "Deep In The Meadow"... one last time..."  
"But you don't like me singing..." I said.  
"Just... do it..." she said.

I sighed softly.  
"Alright fine."  
I closed my eyes and sung.  
_"Deep in the meadow  
Under the willow  
A bed of grass  
A soft green pillow_

_Lay down your head  
And close your eyes  
And when they open  
The sun will rise" _

Pausing, I checked her pulse. It was faint. I burst out crying.  
"I can't believe this!" I cried. "I can't believe you've been shot and now dying!"  
"That's because I was waiting for you to leave her alone so I can kill her..." said a sinister, southern voice.  
I stopped crying loudly and I opened my eyes in fear.  
"Her grandfather..." I whimpered.  
"Indeed I am..." he said.

I stood up and spun around.  
"You forget my grandfather is a police officer!" I shouted. "And a black belt in karate!"  
"Well then... I'll have to shoot you too." he said. "Wait here I gotta reload this dumb thing."  
He walked out and I turned to Lowgan.  
"Go..." she said. "break the wall down."

And those were her last words. Clenching my teeth and balling my hands up into fists, I looked at the wall that would take me outside and I pulled my strong hand back and my weak hand forward. In a blink of an eye, I thrust my strong hand into the wall and broke it open. The hole was super big, so I was able to run out. But, Lowgan's grandfather heard and he opened the front door and started shooting at me. He shot me in my shoulder and I dashed through the street, into the primary school's parking lot. I ran right through the parking lot and through the baseball practice area into the neighborhood beside mine. I ran through a short cut leading into my neighborhood and ran half way through to my house only to collapse to my knees, coughing.  
"Grandpa Sakumo!" I shouted in hopes he could hear me.

I pulled my knees under my chest and I tried to stand up. I was only about ten-fifteen meters from my house. I could make it. Running, I shouted again.  
"Grandpa!" I cried.  
Finally, I got to my house and I opened the door quickly. I pushed it in and collapsed on the floor. One of them ran down the stairs and I looked up to see who it was. It was Daddy. He knelt down beside me and put his hand on my shoulder and gasped.  
"What the hell happened?!" he asked.  
"Lowgan... her grandfather... murdered her... I broke down... her wall... and made a... run for it... because he was... going to... kill me... next... so I... couldn't... tell... you... and grand...grandpa... He saw me... run out... and tried to shoot me..." I panted.  
"Lowgan's grandfather killed her...?" Grandpa said after walking over to me from his desk.  
"And... shot... me..."  
Daddy put his arms under me and lifted me up.

Grandpa walked back to his desk and opened a drawer. He reached inside and pulled out a pun and a pair of handcuffs.  
"Kakashi take Taylor to the hospital, I'll handle this." he said.  
Daddy nodded and carried me outside. Grandpa followed and opened the passenger door for Daddy, and Daddy sat me down in the seat. And that's when I finally blacked out.

I woke up in the hospital later on. I groaned and looked up at Daddy.  
"Otousan..." I whispered.  
He smiled.  
"Finally you're awake." he said.  
"What happened? Where am I?" I asked.  
"You got shot in your shoulder remember? And also you're in the hospital." Daddy replied.  
I thought for a moment and flinched at a pain in my arm.  
"You're all set to go home kiddo." said a very tired doctor.  
"Thank you." Daddy said.  
I looked up at him in confusion.  
"You're all stitched up." he said. "Now les get you home."  
So Daddy took me home and Grandpa was home when we got there.  
"He's arrested and is facing jail time." Grandpa said. "You made the right choice telling your father and I about this. I'm proud of you sweetie."

He thought for a moment.  
"How about a treat? Home made rament and a bit of Sake?"  
I looked up.  
"Sake?" I asked.  
Grandpa nodded.  
"You're allowed a taste of it." he said.  
I nodded and so, he made ramen and I tried the sake. But I didn't care for it much. I hate the smell of alcohol, the taste of it, in my opinion, is worse.  
Just like today. I hate today. Why did Lowgan have to die?


	7. Seven

Monday, July 18,

I haven't slept well lately. I keep having nightmares about what happened Friday. I hadn't told Daddy or Grandpa about it, but after last night's nightmare, I decided to tell them today.

So I went downstairs this morning and saw Daddy and Grandpa on the couch watching a scary movie.  
"D-Daddy? G-Grandpa?" I asked.  
I walked to where they could see me and then sat down. Grandpa sighed and paused the movie.  
"What's up?" he asked.  
I replied in a soft whisper, "I keep having nightmares... Like you guys getting shot or me getting shot..."  
My stomach churned as Daddy and Grandpa shot each other uneasy glances.  
"I haven't had a single good dream since Friday..." I murmured. "Its all either you guys getting shot, seeing Lowgan dead on the floor of her room, me getting shot, Lowgan turning into a zombie..."  
I trailed off toward the end there.

Grandpa sighed heavily and ruffled my hair.  
"Its okay..." he said. "None of it will happen, she's dead. There's nothing we can do about it."  
"Just think good thoughts," Daddy said. "Good thoughts usually bring good dreams."  
He closed his eyes and smiled. I couldn't help but smile back, his smile was assuring to me.

I love my father. He knows how to cheer me up. Around him I can't seem to stay upset. Is that what parents can do? Manage to cheer their children up?

I guess that's what they do. Perhaps I'll understand when I have kids of my own.

Tuesday, July 19,

Today, I looked at myself in the mirror before I got in the shower. I noticed I lost some weight. Seven pounds give or take a few pounds. I could see my cheek bones. Soon I realized, I've only lost weight because Grandpa cut down on the amount of food we eat. We just about only eat dinner. I usually skip all the meals leading up to dinner, and Daddy usually doesn't eat at all.

I got in the shower and hummed softly to the song that I had playing in the background.

When I got out, I got dressed and I walked out of the bathroom. I heard Daddy moving around in his room so I stopped by his room and glomped him from behind.  
"OTOUSAN!" I said, giggling.  
"Ahhhh!" he stumbled a bit and chuckled softly. "Heya baby girl."  
He smiled at me and hugged me back. He breathed in slowly and closed his eyes.  
"I love you Taylor." he said.  
"I love you too Daddy." I said.  
I sighed softly as I started to feel safe. I felt like the world wasn't dying. I felt like it wasn't cold in the middle of summer any more.

Daddy picked me up and carried me downstairs.

Wednesday, July 20,

I watched Star Trek movies with my father and grandfather today. I was snuggled up against Grandpa Sakumo's chest, dozing off every few minutes. I'd only wake up when Grandpa moved. Then I'd doze off again. Then I finally fell asleep and thankfully he let me sleep through the movie. When we were done watching the movie, Daddy woke me up by accident by picking me up off Grandpa. If you can't tell, I was tired, so I wasn't very happy about being woken up.  
"Mew..." I said.  
"Oh crap! Sorry!" Daddy said. "I didn't mean to wake you."  
"Daddy its not your fault. I'm a light sleeper." I replied.  
"I know, but still..." he said, setting me down on the other side of Grandpa.  
I pulled my knees up to my chest and Grandpa got up and started making dinner.

Thursday, July 21,

I went to Karate practice today and there was hardly anyone there. It was just Yamato-Sensei and Kenta-Sensei. Usually you don't see Kenta-Sensei around, but today I got to see him for the first time since May. Thank god he's okay, was my first thought when I saw him. He has jet-black hair and green eyes. His skin is a light tan. When I walked over to him and Yamato-Sensei, both of them seemed older than the last time I saw them. Yamato-Sensei looked kinda distant, but when he saw me, his deep, brown, eyes brightened up.  
"Teira-San." he said. "good to see you."  
I bowed.  
"Good to see you too, Yamato-Sensei." I said.  
Kenta-Sensei smiled.  
"Teira-San." he said.  
"Kenta-Sensei." I said.

He smiled.  
"What have you been up to?" Kenta-Sensei asked.  
"Nothing really... I should ask you the same thing." I replied.  
"Ahhhh been trying to finish up a book I've been writing." he said softly.  
"Oh..." I said.

After a few moments of talking, they started to teach me some new techniques. Afterward, Kenta-Sensei handed me a bag.  
"N-Nani...?" I asked.  
"Miso and rice." he replied. "For you, Sakumo, and Kakashi."  
I looked in the bag, I looked back up, and I bowed.  
"Arigatou gozaimasu." I said.  
"Dou itashimashite." he said.

I hugged them and then went back out to Sakumo-Ojiichan, who was reading "Under the Dome" by Stephen King, using his cellphone as a flashlight to read in the very dim room.  
"Ojiichan." I said.  
He looked up.  
"What's in the..."  
"Rice and miso.." I said. "You can thank Kento-Sensei."  
"They must really love us if they're giving us food." Grandpa said, standing up after closing the thick book and turning off his phone. "Come on then, lets get home."  
I took his hand and we then went home.


	8. Eight

Saturday, July 23,

I started to notice my cloths were getting dirty, even though they go through the wash once a week.  
"It's all the damned ash in the air." Grandpa told me when I said my cloths were dirty.  
That damn ash is ruining my_ gi_.

Sunday, July 24,

I took a little walk today, bundled up in a heavy jacket and a scarf. I avoided the primary school close to my house by going to Oak Grove Park. It was a... chilly afternoon I guess you could say. Normally in July its 95 degrees outside. But today it was 69 degrees.

I shoved my hands into my pockets as I looked around.

As I walked, the wet grass brushed against my shoes. It felt lonely there. Deserted. Silent.

I stopped walking and I sneezed and sighed. But suddenly, I was grabbed from behind. I screeched.  
"Aa! Otousan! Ojiisan!" I cried.  
"No one is here to help you asian girl." a deep voice growled.  
That right there sounded like he was trying to be racist, so I shouted at him, "Let me go you racist bastard!"

The man tried to choke me as I kicked.  
"Let me go!" I screamed.  
I kicked him even more as I heard sirens sounding. Those were police sirens that sounded. The man turned around with me still kicking him. I saw two cars stop and the front doors of the driver's sides opened. Out came Chief Grant and Deputy Riker holding up their guns.  
"Put the girl down." Chief Grant said.  
The man didn't put me down, so Chief Grant shot at the man's arm and he let me go. I fell to the ground. Deputy Riker ran over and hand cuffed the man's hands behind his back. I stood up shakily and Chief Grant ran over to me.  
"Taylor are you okay?" he asked.  
I hugged my sides and shrugged.  
"Would you like me to take you home?" he asked.  
I nodded shyly. He tried to smile reassuringly.  
"Alright, get into my car and I'll drive you home." he said.  
"Y-Yes sir." I said.

I walked over to his car and got into the back. I buckled in and looked out the window. Chief Grant got into the car and turned it on. Then he drove into Battlefield Commons and made a u-turn, driving me back home silently. When he drove into the driveway, he sighed and turned off the car. Grant opened his door and got out. I unbuckled and got out as well. He walked me up to the door and I opened it. Grandpa was at his desk, reading his book.  
"Kumo..." Chief Grant said.  
Grandpa looked up when I walked into the door. I took off my shoes and sat them down beside the stairs.  
"Chief Grant?" he asked.  
"May I speak to you for a moment, Sakumo?" Grant asked.  
"Yeah, of course, Ben." said Grandpa, standing up and walking over to him.  
They talked in hushed voices through the screen door while I tried to calm down. I made myself some hot tea and I bundled up in a blanket. After a few minutes, Grandpa closed the door and walked over to me and sighed.  
"I don't want you going outside by yourself anymore, alright?" he said. "Understood?"  
"Yes Grandpa..." I replied.  
"Good..." he said.

Thursday, July 28,

"I think we should move the mattresses downstairs." Daddy said over a dinner of ramen.  
"Why? Grandpa asked.  
"Dad, we're all getting weaker and weaker by the day." Daddy replied.  
"You hardly eat a thing," I said. "You're getting weaker faster than we are."  
"I know, Taylor, but either which way we're getting weaker. I do eat, every other day though. Your grandfather eats once a day, and you eat twice a day." he replied.  
We sat in silence for what felt like fifteen minutes, but was really five minutes, and thought.  
"All right, fine." Grandpa said. "We will move the mattresses downstairs on Sunday. Sundays are usually cleaning days, so we can get some cleaning done at the same time."  
Daddy nodded.  
"The sooner the better." he murmured.

Sunday, July 31,

Daddy and Grandpa attempted to move the mattresses downstairs. First they took down Grandpa's mattress, while I moved the couch to the back wall.  
"Lets have a break," Grandpa said when they made it downstairs and put the mattress down.  
Daddy put his hands on his waist and sighed.  
"Yeah, that's a good idea. I guess I'm a bit hungry..." he said.  
So then Grandpa made us rice for lunch and then they brought down Daddy's mattress. I moved the coffee table to under the TV and Grandpa's chair to the corner near the window to make a bit more room for my mattress and Daddy's mattress.

When Daddy and Grandpa finally got downstairs with Daddy's mattress, they sat his mattress down and collapsed onto t.  
"You know I think your father and I will share one mattress while you take the other..." Grandpa said to me.  
Daddy nodded.  
"We're exhausted..." he said.  
I nodded.  
"Alright." I said.  
Grandpa sat up on the mattress he and Daddy brought down.  
"I think we'll put the couch in the garage..." Daddy said.  
"Tomorrow," Grandpa said to finish his sentence. "We must rest."  
"Yes... Otousan..." Daddy said.  
"Yes, Ojiisan..." I said.

Monday, August 1,

I helped Grandpa get the couch into the garage while Daddy was forced to eat a little bowl of miso.

Thursday, August 4,

Grandpa took me to Karate practice today and I noticed for the first time how dead Battlefield Boulevard is.  
"Battlefield looks dead..." I whispered.  
"It is..." Grandpa replied.  
"Are we going to move somewhere not so dead?"  
"No because we cannot afford to move, and none of us could survive in an evacuation camp. And either which way no place is safe anymore. Its bad everywhere." Grandpa said.  
I thought for a moment.  
"Grandpa...?" I said.  
"Yes sweetie...?" he asked.  
"Do you think we're going to die?" I asked.

Grandpa slammed on the breaks as a car drove right in front of us without even stopping.  
"Bastard." he said. "Gomen."  
"Grandpa?"  
"No I don't think we're going to die. Why would you think that?" he replied, driving again.  
"Just... wondering..." I said.

I pulled my knees up to my chest and looked out the window. Grandpa looked at me.  
"Dammit Taylor put your seatbelt on." he said.  
"It is on." I replied.  
"Oh... I guess I didn't see that. Sorry Taylor..."  
After Karate, Grandpa started driving me to the library (though I didn't know it at first).  
"Where are we going?" I had asked.  
"The library." Grandpa replied.  
"Why?" I asked nervously.  
"I need something to read." he said. "Other than Dean Koontz and Stephen King."  
"Oh." I said.

And after that he drove in silence until we got to the library. When we got there, I got out of the car, only to be greeted with an extremely cold burst of wind, blowing straight into my face.  
"Eep! Its cold!" I exclaimed.  
"Put your scarf on then, sweetie." Grandpa said.  
I pulled my scarf up to cover my mouth and my nose and I closed my eyes. Then I opened them when I felt something grab my hand. I wasn't paying attention and it was too dark to see much so I went all ninja and attacked what grabbed my hand. My hand was stopped when I tried to punch my hand through the air.  
"It's just me Taylor..." a soft voice said. "It's just me."  
I looked up at Grandpa, his pale face glowed orange in the light from the street light above us.  
"Come on, let's go on inside." he said.

I nodded and we walked over to the library and went inside. There was only one person there, and she was the book-keeper from what I could tell.

We went upstairs into the young adult/adult book sections and looked around. I searched for some sci-fi novels. I picked out six books in all. Two had to do with dragons, two had to do with ninja, and the last two had to do with supernatural people (i.e werewolves and vampires and shape shifters). Grandpa picked out four books, two R.A. Salvator books and two Dean Koontz books he doesn't have yet. I stared at him like he was crazy, but I shook my head.  
"What?" he asked.  
"Nothing." I said.  
"Want me to carry those books for you?" he asked.  
I thought for a moment, and then I handed him the two thick books. He took them and chuckled.  
"Silly girl." he said.

We walked downstairs to the checkout the books. The book keeper told is to keep the books. The library was going to close soon and won't ever reopen. So, Grandpa and I carried the books outside and put them in the backseat of the car. We got in and buckled in, and Grandpa drove us home. When we got home, we took the books in and sat the books down on the coffee table, and allowed ourselves to collapse and pass out on our mattresses.

Friday, August 5,

I woke up this morning, not feeling very well. I sat up in my bed and groaned softly. Grandpa Sakumo heard me groan, so he walked over to me and crouched down.  
"What's wrong?" he asked in a soft voice.  
"Grandpa, I don't feel good..." I coughed.  
I sniffled and coughed again, leaning into Grandpa. He sighed and gently hugged me close to him with one arm and rubbed my back with his hand. After a few moments he put his hand on my forehead, then put both his hands on my cheeks, then one down my back. He sighed agani as he brought his hand back.  
"I'll go make you some soup." Grandpa said, standing up. "Just lay down and watch a movie."  
I nodded.  
"Yes Grandpa..." I coughed.

He bent over and kissed me on my forehead, then went into the kitchen. I heard the downstairs bathroom door open and close and I saw Daddy walking out. He looked tired as he walked.  
"What's going on..." he asked.  
"Taylor is sick." Grandpa replied.  
I grabbed the remote and laid down on my mattress.  
"Sick?" Daddy asked. "How did she get sick?"  
"I don't know, but I do know she has a bit of a fever." Grandpa replied tiredly.  
"Aww..." Daddy said, walking over to me.  
He sat down beside me and gestured for me to sit up. I sat up and he hugged me close to him. I snuggled against him and I sniffled. He rubbed my back.  
"Geez you're hot..." he said. "You poor thing..."  
I closed my eyes.  
"Mew." I said, dozing off.

I woke up a few minutes later to Daddy tapping my shoulder.  
"Wake up sleepy head." he said. "You must eat."  
I looked up at him and sat up straight so I can eat. I coughed heavily and then groaned. Grandpa handed me a bowl.  
"Come on, eat. I will start on the echinacea tea for your throat." he said.  
I nodded.  
"Yes Grandpa..." I said, taking the bowl.  
I started eating slowly. I started shivering because I felt a bit cold so Daddy draped a blanked over my shoulders.  
"Its okay..." he said, smiling.  
I smiled back and ate.

When I finished eating and drinking my tea, I laid back down and fell asleep. When I woke up again, Grandpa forced another bowl of miso down my throat. I ate more slowly this time. I coughed practically every other minute. After I ate, I started writing this and now I shall stop before I crash in the middle of writing.


	9. Nine

Saturday, August 6,

My fever got worse last night. This morning when I woke up, Grandpa immediately checked my temperature, and he let out a heavy sigh.  
"It got worse." he grumbled.  
Daddy walked over and sat down on his feet.  
"Is it bad?" Daddy asked.  
I looked at him, then back at Grandpa, covering my mouth to cough. He shook his head slowly.  
"She'll be fine Kakashi." he said. "I'm pretty sure its just the common cold plus a fever."

I looked down and hugged my arms against my stomach and I groaned softly as my stomach started to hurt.  
"What's wrong?" Grandpa asked.  
"My tummy hurts..." I said in a soft whisper.  
Grandpa and Daddy glanced at each other uneasily. Daddy looked at me and put his hand on my back. Slowly and gently, he rubbed my back.  
"Its okay..." he said in a gentle, soft voice.  
"I'll make you some soup then." Grandpa said.  
"Just try to rest." Daddy said, giving me a wry smile.  
So, I laid down and tried to sleep. I managed to doze off and wake up around two and Daddy made me eat, then I went back to sleep until about five, and Daddy made me eat again. Then I couldn't sleep so I drew in my sketchbook and then wrote all this down.

Sunday, August 7,

Daddy and Grandpa were arguing earlier about me getting more sleep instead of eating.  
"Taylor needs to sleep more, Kakashi." Grandpa said. "She's sick, it makes sense that she wants to sleep more."  
"Yes but she needs to eat something, Dad!" Daddy argued.  
"She will eat when she's hungry." Grandpa growled.  
Daddy looked at me and sighed.  
"Are you hungry Taylor?" he asked.  
I shook my head.  
"Not really..." I said hoarsely.  
"Kakashi just give up." Grandpa said. "She'll eat when she's hungry. You can't force her to eat."  
"Yes Dad..." Daddy said.  
And no I didn't eat anything today.

Monday, August 8,

I still haven't eaten anything, unless you count one sip of miso broth from Grandpa's bowl. Daddy is terribly worried about me. I know this because he said so to Grandpa.  
"Dad I'm worried about her..." he said during dinner.  
"I am too, but you still cannot force her to eat." Grandpa replied. "Maybe tomorrow she'll eat some miso, instead of taking one sip of miso broth from me."  
"I hope so." Daddy said. "I don't want her to go hungry."  
"I don't want you going hungry either Kakashi." Grandpa said. "Now eat."  
"Dad I'm fine!" Daddy exclaimed. "I'm fine."  
"Eat your damn soup, son." Grandpa growled.  
"Yes Dad..." Daddy said.  
Grandpa looked at me and smiled.  
"Its alright sweetie." he said.  
I smiled back and went back to drawing.

Wednesday, August 10,

I feel much better today, but I still don't feel well. I'm eating more, but not as much as Daddy wants me to. Grandpa made me soup and made me take an Advil for my pounding headache. I'm still coughing every few minutes, but I'm not coughing as much as I was Friday.

Grandpa says I'm well enough for Karate practice, so I'll be going to Karate practice tomorrow.

Damn... I kinda want to stay home tomorrow.

Thursday, August 11,

I went to Karate practice today and had fun. I was coughing a lot though, but I still had fun. After that, Yamato-Sensei sent me home with some more rice and miso.

I swear, he just loves me and Daddy and Grandpa.

Friday, August 12,

Grandpa has been watching the news lately, every night, so I asked if there was anything new. Grandpa just stared out the window.  
"School opens September 6. No transportation will be provided though... You don't have to go if you don't want to, or you can go and grab some textbooks and bring them home." he replied.  
I nodded.  
"Also, a nuclear power plant blew in California after an earthquake. New England and the Upper Midwest have had some killer frost lately. Tsunamis have gotten a lot worse. I swear to the Goddess we'll be screwed when Virginia Beach gets flooded out. We're way too close to them so when they're gone, we'll be next." he added.  
"How far have the Tsunamis gotten?" I asked.  
"As far as Dam Neck Road, which is close to the ocean front." Grandpa replied. "I'd say within the next eight months Virginia Beach will be wiped out."  
"Will we move before then?" I asked.

Grandpa bit down on his lower lip and shook his head slowly.  
"We're fine." he said. "We have eight and a half months to move."  
"What if it floods before then?" I asked.  
"It won't." Grandpa said.  
"But what if it does?" I nervously asked.  
"Taylor," Grandpa said. "We aren't concerned about flooding. Right now we are concerned about health and food."  
And that's when I shut up so I didn't piss Grandpa off.

I sighed and sat down on the couch while Grandpa continued to look out the window and bite his lips.

Sunday, August 13,

You know its bad when you get cold weather before October. This morning, the temperature was 45 degrees when Grandpa checked. When I checked it was 39 degrees.  
"Not good..." Grandpa said this morning, looking out the window.  
"Frost before October..." Daddy said. "Now I see why Taylor was sick."  
Grandpa nodded.  
"Yeah the weather change got her..." he said.  
"I'm thankful that we have electricity." Daddy said. "Now I'll turn off the A/C and put on the heater."  
"You better," I said. "Its cold in here!"  
"While you do that, I'll put on the news." Grandpa said, picking up the remote.

He turned on the TV and put on a channel that was working and all of us watched when Daddy got back.  
Leaves are already falling off the trees.  
Crops are starting to die off.  
Feels like October.  
"Its going to be hell in winter..." Daddy murmured.  
Grandpa nodded.  
"Indeed it will..." he said.

Monday, August 14,

Yamato-Sensei came over today and brought us more rice and miso. He talked with Daddy and Grandpa, while I sat on my mattress, drawing. Naturally I'm an introvert, meaning I'm not very social, and today was one of those days where I wasn't in a talkative mood. When Yamato-Sensei left, Grandpa said, "We need to start stretching out the food."  
"How about we all skip a meal every other day?" Daddy suggested.  
"Good idea." Grandpa said. "Today we'll eat, tomorrow we won't."  
And so, we all ate dinner and now will have to wait till Wednesday to eat.

Tuesday, August 15,

I was hungry up until the evening time, then I wasn't as hungry anymore. I think that's a good thing...

Wednesday, August 16,

I sat in my room all day, thinking. I stared out the window at the abandoned houses and I allowed my knee to bounce up and down. All day today I thought about Lowgan. her smile always reminded me of a hamster, the way her cheeks were. I thought about fourth grade, when I first met her. She had brought a mechanical cat. I think it was a Furreal friend cat I believe.  
"Awww I like kitties." I had said.  
"Me too." she had replied.  
And we talked for awhile. I don't remember the conversation, but I do know we'd been best friends ever since then.

I tried to think of other memories of her.

That day in sixth grade when we were watching The Grinch and when the Grinch said, "silence" we both said "I kill you!". We were diagonal from each other in the auditorium (she sat in front of me diagonally) so we both looked at each other like we were crazy. Then there was that one day in seventh grade where she was my witness to a guy being inappropriate with me. Then that day in 7th grade where I got her picture on team day just as she caught me and her mouth looked like a bird's mouth almost.

Bitting down on my bottom lip, I let a few tears escape my eyes as I thought.

That day in eighth grade where we were being bullied and the next day Grandpa drove us both to school. That day when we danced like the crazy people we were in the back of Mr. Riberdy's room. When we danced to Gangnam Style for one of the exercises on Work Out Wednesday in Gym class. When I glomped her in gym and we both fell to the ground.

All those memories made me start crying. Daddy must've been nearby because I heard him walk into my room moments after I started crying. He sat down beside me and pulled me close to him.  
"What's the matter...?" he asked in a soft, gentle, tone.  
I cried and he tried to shush me.  
"Sh... its okay... its okay... Just tell me what's wrong..." he said.  
"L-Lowgan..." I said.

Daddy then hugged me, he put one hand on my back and his other hand on the back of my head, trying to calm me  
"Its okay..." he said.  
I hugged him tightly and I tried to stop crying.  
"Come on, lets go downstairs and eat." he said.  
I bit my bottom lip and nodded.  
"Want me to carry you?" Daddy asked.  
I nodded.  
"Mhm..."  
He sighed and stood up, picking me up with him. He walked shakily out of my room and downstairs with me in his arms.

Grandpa was just finishing up making dinner and when he saw us, he tilted his head to the side curiously.  
"What was she doing?" he asked.  
"She was thinking of Lowgan." Daddy replied nervously.  
Grandpa sighed.  
"I see..." he said. "Now set her down and lets eat!"  
He handed both a bowl of miso and he got himself a bowl of it and we sat down.  
"_Itadakimasu_." Daddy said.  
"_Itadakimasu, Kakashi-kun._" Grandpa said.  
"_Itadakimasu_." I said, trying to cheer up.


	10. Ten

Saturday, August 20,

I had a strange dream last night. There was a thunderstorm, and I was home alone with my old dog, Natsu. He was running around crazily and I was chasing after him. I was five years old in the dream, and I am still trying to figure out why I was home alone in the dream. You don't leave a five-year old alone.  
"Natsu, silly dog, what are you doing?" I asked.  
Continuing to chase him around, I followed him upstairs.  
"Natsu." I said.  
I heard a loud clap of thunder and I jumped.  
"Eep!" I exclaimed.  
The door opened, and I ran down the stairs to see who it was. In the hallway was Grandpa, soaked and wet, but he wasn't soaked in water. He was soaked in blood. His silver hair was crimson from the blood, his indigo police uniform stained with blood. Though, it was hard to tell his uniform was wet because it was dark, but it was pretty much stained in blood. His left cheek was cut and bleeding. I think he looked pretty scary.

In his hands was the sword he gave to me when I was eight. Grandpa looked at me and smiled. But his smile wasn't a comforting smile, it was a terrifying smile.  
"Hey sweetie..." he said, sounding kinda evil. "You okay? You seem like you've seen a ghost."  
"I'm f-fine." I whimpered softly.  
He walked closer to me and I backed away slowly. Suddenly, he pulled his sword over his head to kill me.  
"Grandpa don't kill me!" I cried.  
"This won't hurt a bit!" he yelled, swinging his sword at me.

His sword went right through my chest, which made me wake up with a start. I gasped when I woke up, not sure if I was still asleep. Both Daddy and Grandpa woke up to the sound of my gasp.  
"What's wrong?!" They both exclaimed at once.  
I crawled over to Daddy and I cried. I shivered as I hugged him.  
"Daddy don't let Grandpa kill me..." I said.  
"What in the world are you talking about?" he asked.  
"What? I would never kill you, Taylor!" Grandpa exclaimed.

Daddy rubbed my back comfortingly.  
"Grandpa would never hurt you." he said.  
"You know that!" Grandpa exclaimed.  
I shivered a little and he hugged me.  
"I would never hurt you," he said.  
After a few moments, Daddy joined the hug and we didn't let go for some time. Then, since we had nothing else to do, Grandpa put on a movie. Which made me fall back asleep.

Sunday, August 21,

Vanessa called us today. We were all startled when we heard the phone go off, and we weren't sure what to do. So we let the answering machine answer. After the answering machine turned off, we heard the voice message that was left;  
"Hey Tay-Tay, its me, Vanessa. If you're still here, I want you to come over to entertain me... Kay, thanks, bye. Bleh."  
Grandpa glanced at me.  
"Well, sounds like you still have a friend left," he said. "Want to go see her?"  
"Sure, why not," was my reply.  
"Well then, get ready. It's supposed to be chilly." he said.  
"Yes Grandpa," I said obediently.

Running upstairs, I felt excitement pulse through me; I finally have a chance to see Vanessa again. I throw on my boots and two of my jackets and I ran back down the stairs. Grandpa tossed me my scarf and I caught it. I put my scarf on as Grandpa grabbed his shoes and put them on. Grandpa looked at me and smiled.  
"I"m glad at least one of your friends still live here." he said.  
Daddy nodded.  
"Me too." he said. "I hope nothing happens to Vanessa like what happened to Lowgan."  
Remembering Lowgan's dead, bloody, body on the ground sent chills down my back. I closed my eyes and I shook my head.  
"Nothing will happen with Grandpa around, because he's still a police officer. What idiot would try to murder someone in front of a police officer?" I asked.  
Grandpa let out a soft chuckle.  
"Oh you'd be surprised. Haven't you learned anything from Law & Order?" he replied with a gentle smile.

Before I could answer that, he chuckled again and said, "Come on, let's go see Vanessa before it gets too late."  
I smiled and hugged Daddy and he hugged me back, then Grandpa and I left. He drove me to her house and when we got there, we walked up to the front porch and knocked on the door. Ten seconds later, she answered the door.  
"Tay-tay!" she said, hugging me.  
"Vanessa," I said, hugging her back.  
I took a good look at her. She'defiantly lost some weight. Her cheek bones was a bit more noticeable than when I saw her on the last day of school. Though, she wasn't wearing her glasses, which I found odd because I've only seen her with her glasses. Her brown eyes were dark with gloom, even though she was happy to see me. Vanessa smiled.  
"Come in, and please don't take off your jackets. We have no heat whatsoever." she said.

We nodded and she gestured toward her living room. We walked inside and Vanessa closed the door behind us.  
"Go on, sit down." she said.  
We looked at her and sat down. Because it was so dark in the house, Vanessa seemed to blend in. I guess we have the ash blocking the sun to blame for the darkness. I tried to smile.  
"So... _qué tal_?" I asked.  
"Nothing much...," Vanessa replied with a soft sigh. "So boring here!"  
I nodded.  
"It must be boring," I said. "No electricity."  
Vanessa nodded and put her arm around me and pretended to choke me.  
"Bleh."  
"So what do you want to do?"  
"I don't know, talk? Draw?"

I nodded and Vanessa pulled out paper and pencils.  
"Sure, lets draw," I said, glancing at Grandpa. "Maybe Grandpa can give us something to draw."  
Vanessa nodded and Grandpa thought for a moment.  
"Draw a rose," he suggested.  
"I suck at drawing roses." I grumbled.  
"Me too," Vanessa said, sighing.  
"Then this is a good chance to practice," he grinned.  
Vanessa and I looked at each other and nodded.  
"Alright..."

We both bared down on a book and started drawing a rose. I sat there silently, drawing. Grandpa watched both of us as we drew and within ten minutes, I had drawn a bouquet of weirdly drawn roses. I started outlining with a nearby pen and erased the extra lines after I outlined. Vanessa glanced over.  
"Aww so pretty!" she exclaimed, handing me some colored pencils to color it with. "Color it."  
I nodded and I took the colored pencils and colored the roses pink and red. When I finished it, I glanced over it and wrote down names in each flower. The one on the left, I named Lowgan. The one in the middle; Brittany. Above Brittany; Miguel (one of my friends in karate class I haven't seen in ages!). Beside Miguel on the left; Vanessa. The other side of Miguel; Charlene. On the bottom, I signed my name in kanji and put down the picture.

After about an hour, we had to get ready to go back home for supper.  
"I'm moving," Vanessa said. "We just can't stay here in Chesapeake. I really wanted to see you one last time before I left."  
For a moment, I didn't know what to do. I reached out and hugged her and she hugged me back.  
"I'll miss you Vanessa." I said.  
"I know," she said. "I'll miss you too.  
I tried to smile and I put my fist out for a fist bump.  
"Fist bump?" I asked.  
"Hell yeah!" she said, fist bumping me.  
I wiped a stray tear from my eye.  
"You're a good friend, Vanessa," I said. "Take care, _mi mejor amiga_."  
"You too."  
We hugged one last time, and Grandpa took me home.

Monday, August 22,

I was in my room today alone, thinking. I needed some alone time today, and so I went up into my room. While in my room, I wrote down the names of my friends on a big index card like this;

_Lowgan_  
_Makayla_  
_Brittany_  
_Vanessa_  
_Miguel_  
_Chey_  
_Charlene_

Then next to their names, I wrote;

_Lowgan - Dead  
Makayla - God knows what happened to her  
Brittany - Gone  
Vanessa - Gone  
Miguel - God knows what happened to him  
Chey - Dead  
Charlene - God knows what happened to her_

I stared at the list. Basically, I have no friends left, except Yamato-Sensei and Kenta-Sensei, though I don't know whether I count them, as they're adults. Then again, I've had some friends who were adults... So I guess they do indeed count.

All I have left is my dad and grandfather, Yamato-Sensei, and Kenta-Sensei. I stared out the window at the yucky, ashy, sky and I felt a pulse of anger go through me, making me unconsciously clench my hand. Soon, that anger turned into sadness.  
I miss my friends.  
I wish I'd taken the bullet for Lowgan.  
I hate the moon.  
I hate this world we live in.

Tuesday, August 23,

I nearly killed my ankle today after jumping off the stairs. Grandpa Sakumo nearly had a fit when I couldn't stand up, but he helped me walk to my mattress and he laid me down. I read a book for a while. By two in the afternoon, I could stand up normally again. But Grandpa said I have to stay in bed for the day, in case I hurt myself again. So, I was confined to bed and Daddy made sure I stayed in bed. We decided we'd watch the news on the TV. Basically they were saying the same thing Grandpa had learned a week ago. I guess the reporters figured they should repeat themselves with some more information.  
"School starts September 6," the reporter said. "Parents, there will not be any buses, so send your closest school, no matter what grade they're in. No lunches will be served, so give your kids a big breakfast. Also, do not send your kids to school if they're sick! We don't want sick kids and the nurse can't call home to tell you to pick up your kids. In addition, students have two options; they can go to school or they can stay home and be home schooled. If your child wants to be home schooled, be sure to pick up textbooks."

They seemed to have forgotten about school.  
"What do you think, Taylor?" Grandpa asked.  
"I don't know," I said. "But I sure as hell won't go to B.M. Williams cause it's too close to Lowgan's house. I don't... want to be reminded."  
Grandpa nodded.  
"I understand," he said. "So, Smith or Crestwood Middle or Intermediate?"  
"Crestwood Intermediate, though its farther than Smith but I would like to see Crestwood Intermediate again." I replied.  
"Alright," he said. "I'll drive you to school and I'll wait in the car in case you decide to be home schooled. Now, they mentioned textbooks... I believe you need Spanish II, Algebra I, English 9, World History I, and Physical Science textbooks?"  
I nodded.  
"You know, I want to brush up on my spanish..." Grandpa said. "Would you also get me a Spanish I textbook if you decide on being home schooled? _Douzo?_"  
I nodded.  
"Of course." I said, smiling a bit.

Leaning backwards into Daddy, I fumbled around with my pentacle and I closed my eyes in thought. It was given to seven months ago by Grandpa for my birthday. The pentacle is a moon and the star with a moonstone in the center. The moon itself looks kinda celtic, which I find pretty cool. Grandpa had told me it was my grandmother's pentacle and he found it in his room somewhere. He thought I'd like it, and of course, I did.

I still like it.

Smiling, I drifted off into a dreamless sleep for about an hour, give or take a few minutes. I awoke to the sound of Grandpa dropping a pan and shouting angrily in Japanese.  
"_Chikushō_!" I heard him shout.  
I practically jumped out of my father's lap when I heard him.  
"_Gomen nasai._" he muttered as he bent down to pick up the pan. Softly, but angrily, he started cursing in Japanese.  
"What should we have for dinner?" Grandpa asked Daddy.  
"I honestly think we should have udon," Daddy replied. "I looked to see what we have and we have plenty of udon noodles. Oh yeah and some soba noodles as well."  
"Kakashi, later on tonight I want you to look inside the garage to see what else we have and write it down for me," Grandpa said. "_Douzo_."  
"_Hai, Otousan._"  
"_Arigatou_ gozaimasu."  
"Dou_ itashimashite, Otousan_."

Grandpa scratched his head.  
"Now where are those damned udon noodles...?"  
"Left hand cabinet, top shelf."  
Grandpa nodded and reached for the left hand cabinet and opened it, pulling out a container of udon noodles. And so, we ate udon for supper tonight.


	11. Eleven

Thursday, August 25,

I honestly had some fun at karate practice today, Miguel came to practice today and Yamato-Sensei had us spar. At first, I didn't think it was Miguel that I was sparring with. I walked into the dōjo and I saw a kid beside Yamato-Sensei. Sensei bowed to me and smiled.  
"_Konnichiwa, Teira-san_." he said.  
I bowed back.  
"_Yamato-Sensei_," I smiled.  
"I know you've been itching for a good fight so today you're sparring with Miguel." he said.  
I looked at the kid. Brown eyes, dark hair, a latino complexion. I've always confused Miguel with Luis (my classmate last year) because they pretty much look alike, though there are plenty of differences both physically and in their personalities.  
I giggled after I realized it was him.  
"Miguel!" I giggled.  
He laughed.  
"You didn't think I'd be coming back from my trip to Mexico did you?" he laughed.  
I let out a soft sigh.  
"Well, everyone keeps disappearing and dying so my mind naturally thought you wouldn't be coming back," I said. "Eh, I don't feel coherent right now so maybe that's why it took forever to recognize you.  
"Well come on you two," Yamato-sensei said.

We nodded.  
"Hai!"  
Yamato-Sensei smiled softly as Miguel and I stood face-to-face with each other.  
"Bow." he commanded gently.  
We nodded and bowed to each other and stood straight to get into fighting positions. Once ready, Yamato-Sensei exclaimed, "_Iku_!" which was the clue to have us start fighting. We walked around each other (sort of like a mexican stand-off, minus the gun and the standing), waiting for the first attack. I wanted Miguel to throw the first punch, and he knew that. So, he threw a punch at me and I managed to block it quickly. Reflexively, I kicked him right in the stomach and knocked him down. Automatically he jumped up and thrusted his foot into my stomach and I stumbled a bit. After fifteen minutes of fighting, I won. And because we were coughing, Yamato-Sensei went and got us some water to soothe our throats.

We sat down on the floor, coughing as we waited for the water. Miguel sighed softly and pulled out something that I recognized only moments after holding it up to his mouth.  
"Is that-"  
Miguel cut me off.  
"An inhaler?" he nodded as he inhaled.  
He took in a deep breath of normal air and exhaled deeply. Moments later he spoke.  
"I have adult onset asthma," he said. "I used to run until I had an asthma attack. It was not fun at all, believe me."  
Yamato-Sensei walked in with two glasses of boiled water.  
"Here you guys go," he said, handing us each a glass.

We bowed her heads and took a glass. I held mine gingerly until it cooled down some.  
"So... You have asthma..." I said awkwardly to Miguel.  
"I might not last," he said. "We don't have the means to get cartridges for me. We only managed to get ten extra, but it won't last for long if I continue to do Karate. I wanted to fight you, just one last time, before I quit."  
He turned to Yamato-Sensei.  
"_Arigatou Gozaimasu, Yamato-Sensei_, for being an awesome sensei. I wish you luck, and I will pray for you." he said.  
Miguel turned to me.  
"Thank you, Taylor-San, for this last fight. It was fun, believe it or not. I wish you and your family well, and I shall pray for you three as well."  
I nodded and a slight tear escaped my eye. I'm loosing every friend I have, aren't I? Brittany, then Chey, then Lowgan, then Vanessa, and now Miguel? Is this the Goddess's punishment? If so, for who? Me or the human race?

And that was the question I fell asleep with. It continued to linger in my mind as I slept a dreamless sleep.

Sunday, August 28,

I went into Grandpa's room and I sat in front of the Pagan alter I helped make. We agreed it would stay in Grandpa's room, so it is in his room.

Silently, I placed the flower seeds into the offering bowl and looked at the desk. Carefully, I grabbed the incense and lighted it. I sat there, thinking silently. Feeling the comfort of _Madre Luna y Padre Sol. _Its funny, I felt like they were hugging me, then again I had just escaped from my father's bear hug so maybe I felt like he was hugging me still. But, I took the feeling as comfort, as They know I'm loosing my friends because of this... apocalypse.

Carefully, I quenched the flame with my fingers and I put the incense in its little holder. I glanced around. Grandpa barely ever goes into his room, yet there's hardly any dust in his room. You'd think after about a month of not being in your room, there'd be a ton of dust. Apparently not.

I walked out of the room and walked to the bathroom and took a shower. After ten minutes, I got out and dried myself off quickly and I put on my clothes. I brushed my teeth lightly and went back downstairs.  
"Ah, just in time for supper," Grandpa said as I walked into the living room. He handed me a bowl of udon and a bowl of miso.  
"I thought we didn't eat on even days," I asked.  
Grandpa shrugged.  
"We're okay for now," he said. "Trust me. It won't kill us to eat a little more. We have plenty of udon and surely enough we have a ton of ramen."  
"Are you sure we'll be okay?" I asked.  
"Taylor, if we eat once a day, we'll be fine," Grandpa said. "Besides, your father doesn't eat much anymore..."  
Daddy nodded.  
"Not that I like it..." he said.  
Grandpa sighed.  
"Come on, lets sit down and eat..." he said.  
We nodded and I went and sat down on my bed and waited for them to sit down on their beds. When they sat down, we all said, "_Itadakimasu_" and started eating. We all ate in silence while watching Spirited Away.

Tuesday, August 30,

I sat in my room, staring at my Kazuhiko Inoue posted in silence. I've always wanted to go to Japan to see him (and see where Great Grandpa Kumo came from). We all had planned to go to Japan this summer to see Mount Fuji.

Obviously we didn't go this summer, which I realized just today and it made me feel a bit sad.

Well played Universe.  
Well played.

Thursday, September 1,

I went to Karate practice today and actually, Yamato-Sensei and I just talked.  
"How do you feel about school starting?" he asked me.  
"I'm tempted to get some textbooks and bring them home," I replied. "but I will go into the school and see what it'll be like."  
He nodded.  
"I see..." he thought for a moment. "Are you going to continue Spanish?"  
I nodded.  
"Of course." I said.  
He smiled.  
"I see..."  
"My grandfather wants to learn Spanish, so I'll see if I can get him a Spanish I textbook." I said.

He nodded. I looked around.  
"Hey where's Kenta-Sensei?" I asked.  
"Kenta? He's home with his wife, Hikari, who is pregnant. The baby is due in the next few days, and this will be their second kid." he said. "Its a girl, so they're thinking of naming her 'Chinatsu' or 'Thousand Summers'."  
"Oooh what a pretty name," I said.  
Yamato-Sensei nodded.  
"Indeed."  
I smiled and we continued talking until it was time to go home. I swear, I love talking to Yamato-Sensei.

Friday, September 2,

Well, we all read a book today, and fell asleep by three in the afternoon. Either which way, we weren't very hungry, so it didn't matter that we slept until eleven at night.

Saturday, September 3,

This morning, I woke up drooling and I had the taste of chocolate ice cream in my mouth, which kinda made me hungry. I guess it's from the dream I had last night, a dream where I got as many chocolate ice cream cones as I could eat. Now, I want chocolate.

Monday, September 5,

Tomorrow is the first day of school, and I'm tempted just to go into the school and get my textbooks and be home schooled. Oh! How fun it'll be tomorrow.


	12. Twelve

Tuesday, September 6,

Grandpa drove me to the Intermediate school today and parked close to the front and took me into the school. When we got inside, we saw groups being formed. I could tell which groups were which. One group was K-2, another was 3-5, another being 6-8, and the last one being 9-12. Before going over to join the high schoolers, I gave Grandpa a tight hug. He hugged me back and left me to join the high schoolers. I felt safe as I joined the high school group, because I know he'll be outside waiting for me.

I watched as a teacher walked in and directed the groups.  
"Group One, go to the cafeteria. Group Two, to the auditorium. Group Three, to the music room. And lastly, Group Four to the gym." she said.  
I think we all knew which groups were which. The elementary/primary school kids headed for the cafeteria. I kind of glanced at them in awe because they looked so cute, so innocent. I've always thought little kids were as cute as kittens.

Next, Group Two formed a single file line and headed for the auditorium. Those were the intermediate school kids. Group Three, the middle school kids, headed for the music room in a single file line. And lastly, Group Four, the high school kids, headed for the gym. I guess my group doesn't care about being a straight line.

As we walked, I glanced around the dark hallways. Even with the windows in the hallway showing the courtyard, it was pretty dark. And it was pretty damn cold in the school. I think the school's heater can't work because they either use natural gas or electricity. I think its electricity they used. Either which way, I was cold and I was shivering non-stop. Forty degrees at the beginning of September. Well, that's nice to know.

By the time we got to the gym, I just wanted to go home. It was just too cold, I was getting a headache, and I couldn't see much in the gym. I could barely see in the gym. I had to use my mp3 player as a flashlight because it was so dark.  
"Its cold!" one kid exclaimed.  
"Its way too dark!" another grumbled.  
I nodded.  
"Are we allowed to leave?" I asked in a soft whisper.  
"Wait for a teacher to come," one of the older kids said.  
So, I stood there waiting impatiently. A lot of us shifted in our sneakers, waiting impatiently in the freezing, dark, gym for a teacher to come. I shivered violently with my hands in my pockets. I had on a pair of jeans and sweatpants over the jeans, three fuzzy socks, three jackets (one of them being my father's heavy coat) and two pairs of gloves, yet I was still cold!

Finally, twenty minutes later, a teacher came in. A kid immediately asked to leave.  
"If you wish to be home schooled, please don't hesitate to leave. You must stop by the office and get textbooks, though." the teacher said.  
I, with a few other kids, took the free pass to leave and walked out of the room. Seriously, who in the hell would like work in dim light in the cold? Not me.

When I got to the office, I walked up to the front desk where a tall woman stood, reading a book next to a candle.  
"Being home schooled?" the woman behind the desk asked.  
I nodded.  
"Yes ma'am."  
She pointed to the stack of textbooks.  
"Textbooks over there."  
I nodded and walked over to the textbooks. I pulled out five textbooks; Algebra I, Spanish I and II, World History I, and English 9. Beside them, I saw pencils and notebooks, and pens. I reached for a notebook and I heard someone speak from behind me.  
"You can have a notebook or two and some pencils," the voice said.  
I looked up and behind me and saw the principal.  
"Mr. Ward!" I exclaimed.

He smiled a bit.  
"You may keep the notebooks and the pencils if you would like to." he said, smiling a bit.  
I nodded.  
"Th-Thank you sir," I said, putting three notebooks and six mechanical pencils into my bag.  
I stood up and bent down to pick up the textbooks.  
"Do you need any help with those textbooks Miss Hatake?" Mr. Ward asked.  
I shook my head.  
"No sir," I said. "Thank you, though."  
He smiled and I tried to smile back.  
"I see... Well, I wish you and your family well Taylor," Mr. Ward said.  
He smiled again and I walked out of the office.

Silently, I walked out of the office and walked to the spot I remember Grandpa parking at. No matter what time in the daytime, the sky looked like twilight, so it was pretty hard to see the outline of the truck. As soon as I got close enough to the truck, I could see its outline. I hurried over to the truck and I put my textbooks in the backseat. Grandpa turned around and looked at me.  
"Well damn, that was pretty fast." he commented.  
"Well, would you like to study in dim light and in a cold room with a headache?" I asked.  
"No thank you," was his awesome reply.  
I closed the door and opened the passenger door and climbed in.

When we got home, I took two textbooks and Grandpa took three textbooks and we carried them inside. Daddy was laying down on his bed, reading a Robert Jordan book.  
"Home early I see?" he asked.  
"Too cold, too dim. I have come home with a headache for God's sake," I said. "I honestly can't work like that."  
We sat down the books and Daddy nodded.  
"I see... Well, you better start studying," he said.  
I nodded.  
"_Hai, Otousan_."  
Grabbing the Spanish I textbook, Grandpa and I worked on Spanish. A little later on, Daddy joined us.  
"Conjugating?" he had asked.  
I nodded.  
"Something we do on a daily basis. For example, "I am" (yo soy) "You are" (tú eres) "He is" (él es) "We are" (nosotros somos) "Y'all are" (vosotros somos) and "They are" (ellos son). I just translated the conjugations to the verb "_ser_" which means "to be"." I explained.  
Daddy nodded.  
"I see..." he said.  
And we did _capítulos uno y dos y despúes almuerzo capítulo tres_ (chapters one and two and after lunch chapter three).

Wednesday, September 7,

I did algebra for two hours straight and read from the history textbook after lunch for three hours. I think I got about half way through the book before I fell asleep. I guess I was tired.

Thursday, September 8,

Scary day today. Grandpa and I payed a visit to the library off of Cedar Road today and thankfully, they were open. We walked in and dropped off our old books to get new ones. Both of us glanced around the huge library for something new to read. Wondering around the library in the dim lights with a candle at my side, I found a set of books to a series I loved to read called, "Warriors". The series is about cats that live in clans. Yes, that is the best description I can come up with right now! I'm still shaking from what happens next.

Suddenly the room started to shake violently. I heard a loud clatter and my attention turned to where I heard it. Then, I heard my name.  
"Teira!"  
I recognized the voice as Grandpa's voice  
"Earthquake!" he shouted.  
_An earthquake? But this is Virginia... We don't get earthquakes, or do we,_ I thought.  
He ran over to me and grabbed me, ducking under the nearest table with me in his arms. Grandpa held me tightly until the quake was over. After about thirty seconds, he let me go and got out from under the table and sat up.  
"This isn't a surprise," he murmured. "Richmond has been hit by an earthquake twice in the past three months."  
I shook in fear as I crawled out from under the table. Gently and calmly, Grandpa pulled me close to him and started stroking my back soothingly.  
"Its okay...," he whispered. "Your father is perfectly fine."  
He paused.  
"And no, there is no chance that a volcano will appear randomly near us and blow its top off." he added.  
Chuckling, he hugged me and I hugged him back and he stood up.  
"Now come on, lets check out the books we have and get home," he said.  
I nodded and grabbed my books and stood up, heading to the check out with Grandpa.

Friday, September 9,

I spent the entire day finishing off my history textbook. I guess when I have nothing better to do, I can read half a textbook without having to stand up.

Wednesday, September 14,

I sprained my ankle today, just running through the house. Then, I tripped and hit my head on the wall (I'm surprised I didn't break the wall, seeing as how thick-skulled I am!). How clumsy can you get?!  
"And this is why we never run in the house," my father grumbled.  
I wrapped my ankle up and laid on my mattress. Grandpa sighed heavily and shook his head.  
"You need to rest, you hit your head so don't go to sleep until about 8. And don't think about standing up for a few days either." he said.  
"_Hai_... _ojiisan_...," I grumbled.  
I hate being a klutz.

Thursday, September 15,

Today was Daddy's birthday and Grandpa and I made him a bowl of ramen (Grandpa held me as I stirred because of my ankle). When we finished cooking, I crawled over to Daddy, who was still sleeping and watched as Grandpa brought over the ramen. Because he was asleep, we sang to him Kazuhiko's "Birthday Song" to wake him up. I giggled when he woke up. He opened his eyes wide and he raised his eyebrows in surprise. He sat up and I handed him the bowl of ramen.  
"Happy birthday!" Grandpa and I both exclaimed.  
He blushed.  
We both made you lunch." Grandpa said.  
"Aww thank you guys." Daddy said.

He smiled and hugged us both tightly after we sat the bowl down on the floor. We hugged Dad back and Grandpa chuckled.  
"Your cheeks are red." he said.  
Daddy shook his head and took the bowl of ramen.  
"That was nice Dad, that was very nice." he said.  
"You're welcome son!" Grandpa said.  
Daddy started eating the ramen.  
"So how is the ramen?"  
"Excellent, Father."  
"Good."

And Daddy was happy with just a bowl of ramen for his birthday.

Friday, September 16,

For most of the day, I read my algebra textbook. Every five minutes, I would stretch. For dinner, we all had a bowl of miso and after dinner, I immediately went to sleep.


	13. Thirteen

Wednesday, September 21,

Today is the autumnal equinox and its 40 degrees outside. I know, in September it should be warm (I mean, this is Virginia we're talking about here), but either which way its fall, it's allowed to be cold. Hehe...

Friday, September 23,

We had another earthquake and it wasn't as bad as the first one. Grandpa and Daddy and I tried to fit under the front door's frame, which we did amazingly enough. When the quake was over, we stood outside for a bit.  
I asked, "How are we getting earthquakes?"  
Grandpa gestured for us to go inside.  
"There must be a fault line under Richmond or somewhere near us," Daddy said as we all walked in. "It's the only reasonable explanation I can come up with."  
Grandpa nodded and we sat down on our mattresses. I sat there, trying to imagine a fault line near us.

A hidden fault line in Virginia.

I think I'm scared...

Sunday, September 25,

I swear, I keep having dreams that Stephen King could easily turn into a short story. Last night, I dreamt I was in school, everything was fine. We were out on the track, running around it. The sky was blue, the sun shining bright, warming up the air. Miguel and Lowgan ran beside me, Vanessa ran behind me, and Makayla ran in front of me. The birds sang their lovely songs as we ran. At a first glance, you would have thought everything was alright. Like, nothing ever happened this summer, it was all a dream.

No, everything wasn't alright! The birds grew silent, the air grew dark, the air thickened, and the ground shook violently. Everyone on the track started screaming, except the four of us. We stopped running and looked around. I looked at Lowgan, who attacked me with a knife. I dodged and headed for the fence.  
"Die bitch!"  
Suddenly, the ground collapsed before us and left a lava lake in its wake. I jumped back and I could see a look of scorn on her face.  
"You should've been the one to die!" she shouted as she shoved me into the lake.  
I screamed loudly and woke up with a gasp. Panting, I quickly looked over to Daddy and Grandpa, who were still asleep. Sitting up on my warm bed, I tried to make sense of the dream. It made no sense whatsoever! Lowgan wouldn't have done that to me, she's too nice. She was really kind and she was not really evil like that. Slowly and shakily, I uncovered myself and stood up. I closed my eyes and turned around to go into the kitchen. So I don't disturb my grandfather and father, I only turned on the kitchen light (which is dimmer than the ceiling fan light) and I quietly pulled out a tea bag and a cup. Then, I boiled some water. I glanced over at Daddy and Grandpa as they continued to sleep.

I wondered what they were dreaming about. Daddy's face seemed pretty relaxed, Grandpa's was a little tense. I don't think Daddy was dreaming, and I think Grandpa was having a conflicting dream of some kind. I sighed. It seemed I was the only one with dreams Stephen King could turn into short, horrific, stories (seriously, I bet he could). Sigh...

Monday, September 26,

I spent the day reading Under The Dome by Stephen King. I actually began to wonder if we were under a dome, and everything that was happening was just happening to us, Hampton Roads. No one else.

No... I know its happening to the rest of the world, the moon affects the entire planet. It cannot just be Hampton Roads.

Tuesday, September 27,

Lately, everyone in this house has been taking naps, even Grandpa, who rarely took naps. I took a nap snuggled against Daddy, who was napping, snuggled against Grandpa, who was napping as well. We all were napping because we were tired. We spent the night cleaning the house (because we felt the house needed some cleaning.) and I had to look to see what we had for food in the garage. I held a notepad and wrote down what we had:

_• five boxes of ramen  
_• _four containers of soba  
• A whole container of flour  
• Tons of miso  
• two whole boxes filled with bags of rice _(if you can't tell we like rice...)  
•_ a few cans of canned fruits_

I sat there in wonder, wondering how long it'll all last. Grandpa can surely make some bread with that flour, he's done it many times before. So, I suggested it to him.  
"Hey Grandpa, we have a whole container of flour, what should we do with it?" I asked.  
"Hm? We have some flour?" I nodded.  
"Yes, Grandpa."  
He rested his head on his fist for a moment in thought.  
"I can make bread and we can eat that for awhile," he said.  
I nodded.  
"Cut down on the food we currently have."  
"Yes, Grandpa."

He smiled.  
"And you'll help me." he said.  
I nodded.  
"Yes, Grandpa." I said.

And then today, we went and made some bread this morning, and we were just tired. After the bread finished baking, we pulled it out of the oven and let it cool off by taking a nice, long, nap. Fun.


	14. Fourteen

Saturday, October 1,

I saw a kitten outside our front door this morning, but by the time I had my gloves and scarf on, she was dead. I had wanted to bring her into the warmth, but I guess that won't happen now.  
"Oh well," Grandpa said. "The only thing we can do is bury her out in the backyard."  
I nodded and I scooped up the poor kitten and brought her inside. Grandpa and Daddy got out the shovels and started digging a hole in the backyard for the little kitten. When they finished, I put the kitten into the hole and we covered her up.

That poor kitten... She had to be about what, five months old? That's too young... just too young.

Sunday, October 2,

I had a rather strange dream last night. Believe it or not, it was all 8th grade memories. I dreamt of the day my bullies caused me to go completely OCD on the bookshelf. The day I presented my Harlem Renaissance project (and I was pretty nervous that day). My birthday party (in which my father kept scaring the hell out of Lowgan and Brittany. It didn't help that he was dressed as an actual scarecrow). My birthday cake (which had a cute picture of Kazuhiko Inoue on it (and I blushed a bit just thinking about it)) was awesome. The Spring Fling in March. Oh! That day I was pulled out of school to a karate competition and became a brown belt. When I presented my Holocaust book report (which I was pretty damn nervous that day). Good memories and bad, all compiled into one dream. Then close to the end of the dream, Lowgan said, "Taylor, this is hell ya know."

Yet... I don't believe in a hell. But I knew I couldn't feel any good presences.  
"How is it hell?"  
"It just is."  
"It can't be."  
"It is hell!"  
And then, I woke up. The question remained; why did I have this dream? I wish not to think about 8th grade.

I told Daddy about it and he looked puzzled.  
"That's pretty damn weird." he said.  
"I think weird is pretty normal now days..." Grandpa murmured.  
I nodded.  
"I guess so..." I said.  
"Makes sense." Daddy said.  
Grandpa handed each of us a slice of bread.  
"Lets drink a bit of saké." he suggested.  
"Why?" I asked.  
"Why not?" Daddy said. "Just one shot of saké can't hurt."  
I nodded.  
"Yeah..." I said.

But as Grandpa opened the sake, I made an expression of disgust.  
"Yuck!" I exclaimed, covering my nose.  
"Oh right, she hates the scent of alcohol." Grandpa said.  
"It is a pretty strong scent, Dad." Daddy said.  
I nodded.  
"Mhm."  
"Oh well."  
Without thinking, I said, "But anyway, I'll have a taste of saké."  
Grandpa looked at me in surprise and shook his head.  
"Alrighty then. Only one shot for you though since you're not of drinking age yet."  
I nodded.  
"I know Grandpa." I said.  
I still hate the taste of Sake but I didn't care. I drank my shot of saké.

Thursday, October 6,

"The dismal swamp is on fire again," Grandpa grumbled,  
"Well, that's just great," Daddy murmured.  
"Wait, how?" I asked.  
"Well some dumb-ass left a campfire unattended and it caught fire quickly because its been so dry lately," he sighed. "and its pretty hard to see almost, even with the street lights on.  
"And things continue to get worse...," I grumbled.

Friday, October 7,

I've noticed the ash in the air getting thicker. What? Is the dismal swamp on fire again? Haha nope, the volcanoes are still bowing their tops off. Grandpa went and checked the mail (yet there is basically no point to that anymore really) and came home coughing.  
"Good Goddess!" he exclaimed. "Yuck! The ash has certainly gotten thicker."  
"Its going to continue to get worse," Daddy added.  
Grandpa sat down on his bed and sighed.  
"I'm not taking walks anymore. Not even once a week." he said.  
"That's probably a good idea." Daddy said.  
I sat down on my bed in my PJs, thinking about the possibility of one of us getting asthma. None of us could survive an asthma attack. Just no way we could get to the hospital on time, even though we're close to the hospital. No, we'll be careful and not go out much anymore. Well, we don't go out much to begin with but still...

Thursday, October 20,

I want a nice slurpee for my raw throat. I think the extra ash is making my throat raw (even though the air in the house is rather clean) and I don't think the smoke from the dismal swamp has cleared any. We went outside to go to the truck for karate practice and I coughed.  
"Yuck! Smells so gross outside." I sneezed.  
"Wow its hard to see." Grandpa grumbled.  
"Should we even bother, Ojiisan?" I asked.  
"Maybe next week." he shook his head. "Go back inside immediately."  
I nodded and went back inside immediately.  
"That was pretty fast." Daddy said.  
"She can't handle the extra ash and smoke. We can't risk her developing asthma." Grandpa said as he walked in. He closed the door and sighed heavily. "No more Karate practice until that damn ash clears up."  
"It won't likely clear up in your lifetime, otousan." Daddy chuckled.  
"It probably won't clear up in your lifetime either, Kakashi." Grandpa said.

A small smile played across his face.

I sat down on my bed and sighed. Karate was my only way of getting outside this house, but I can't go there without the feeling of rawness in my throat. Damn this world we live in.

Friday, October 21,

When I reread my diary, I realize how many times I've mentioned how much I dislike this world we live in. I seriously dislike it. why haven't I lost my faith in the Goddess and the God? Something keeps my faith in the deities. Its just, so many bad things have happened that I would think I had lost my faith in the deities. Perhaps I still think things will get better.

Hope.

That's why I haven't lost my faith; hope.


	15. Fifteen

Wednesday, October 26,

We went up into the attic and looked for our Halloween kitty decoration. I've always loved it. It's a cute little kitten with a pumpkin that lights up. Its freaking adorable!

We managed to find it and took it downstairs and Daddy plugged it into the wall. Silently, we watched it as the whiskers lit up and started changing.

So cute...

Thursday, October 27,

I feel trapped. I can't go outside because the smoke from the Dismal Swamp hasn't cleared up at all. Today, I looked out the window and longed to go outside and feel the warmth of the sun. Laugh with my friends. Play with the police dogs with Grandpa and Chief Grant. Go to Karate practice and not have to worry about getting asthma. I guess none of it will happen...

I hate the feeling of being trapped. It certainly is a terrible feeling.

Saturday, October 29,

I spent the day drawing in my room. I drew a landscape, the background filled with trees. In the foreground, a small stream. Behind the stream, a calico kitten. But I didn't intend to put the kitten in there. I wonder if I drew it as a symbol. If I did, for what? Hope? Faith? Loss?

Monday, October 31,

Happy Halloween! Oh! How I would kill for some candy right now. Some kit kat bars and perhaps some popcorn balls. Oh gosh, sounds so good right now... I think I'm drooling as I write this! Oh who cares? I want candy.

So today, for Halloween, Daddy decided to pull out his scarecrow outfit and he startled me when he got downstairs. When I recovered from being startled (didn't take more than ten seconds), I went upstairs and pulled out my Nyanko-Sensei cosplay and put it on. I glanced at myself in the mirror and giggled, then went downstairs. Just to be silly, I grabbed an empty bottle of saké from the kitchen and filled it with water (forgetting to boil it. Eh, not like I was going to drink it. I'm not stupid.) and I laid down on my mattress. Daddy glanced over at me.  
"Oh no, Dad. Nyanko-Sensei got into the sake again," he said.  
"Aa! Iie! Iie! Iie sake Nyanko-Sensei!" Grandpa exclaimed.  
"Its water...," I said, pretending to be drunk.  
"No sake for you, Nyanko-Sensei." Daddy chuckled.  
"Awww but I love sake..." I murmured.  
Looking at each other, Daddy and Grandpa burst out laughing and I giggled softly.  
"Nah, what I'd really love right now is a bucket full of popcorn balls, candy corn, and lots of strawberry and banana laffy taffy." I said.

Daddy nodded.  
"Yeah..."  
"Sounds so good." Grandpa sighed.  
We all sighed.  
"Oh well."  
"Well, lets eat supper." Daddy said. "And don't drink that water."

Thursday, November 3,

Yamato-Sensei came over today.  
"How come she hasn't come to practice?" he asked Grandpa.  
"The smoke from the Dismal Swamp has made it difficult to see, and has made it hard to breathe, especially with our sensitive noses." Grandpa replied.  
Yamato-Sensei nodded.  
"I see...," he said. "The air has been pretty thick with ash from the Swamp fire."  
"What's even worse is that the air has gotten even thicker from all those volcanoes blowing their tops off..." Daddy grumbled.  
"Basically the air is thick with ash and is messing with our noses," Grandpa said. "As I said earlier, we have sensitive noses and it burns to breathe, even when we breathe through our mouths. It's actually gotten to the point where I can't go outside because I can't afford to get sick, not with my son and granddaughter alive."  
Yamato-Sensei nodded.  
"Right..."

Sensei stood up.  
"We'll try to come next week though," Grandpa said. "I promise, Yamato-Kun."  
He smiled.  
"Alright," Sensei said as he handed Grandpa a bag. "Rice and miso like always."  
Grandpa smiled.  
"Arigatou gozaimasu." he said.  
"Dou itashimashite." Yamato-Sensei smiled again.

Sunday, November 6,

I've realized how much I've been neglecting my studies, but honestly, who cares? No one cares anymore. Not like I'll be able to go to college because all the colleges will be closed by the time I turn 18. Hell, we'll all probably all be dead by then. Us, the human race, will die off, and all the scientists will have died off without coming up with a solution for the moon. When we die, we'll have left a dead planet in our wake.

Wow, why am I so negative? I used to be able to look at the positive side of things but now, I try to find anything I can to be negative about. Then again, is there really much to be positive about these days? There are more things to be negative about than there are things to be positive about.

Thursday, November 10,

We managed to get to Karate practice today and Yamato-Sensei was pleased that we did.  
"Aa, you guys came." he said with a smile.  
I smiled back and nodded. He glanced at my gi.  
"Wow, your gi is very dirty." he said.  
"Yeah... Stupid ash has been getting into the air and water supply..." I said.  
"It certainly has gotten into the water supply." he said with a sigh. "Oh well. come on, let's do some practicing!"

And so, we practiced for an hour, practicing. When class was over, Yamato-Sensei handed me a small bag with miso, like he usually does. He bowed.  
"Sayounara."  
I bowed back.  
"Sayounara, Sensei."

Tuesday, November 15,

Last night, I had trouble getting to sleep, so Grandpa made me some tea and made me meditate till I fell asleep. Oddly enough, I imagined myself swimming in a lake near Mt. Fuji. But, it was nice and relaxing. At least Fuji didn't blow its top off. That would've been messed up.

Sunday, November 20,

Grandpa and I went out into the backyard this morning to cut down the mulberry tree. You know, to make something out of it with the hot glue gun we have. Believe it or not, it was minus twelve degrees outside (sheesh!). So, we didn't even bother. Obviously, we're not used to extremely cold weather. This is Virginia for goodness's sake, we don't get extremely cold temperatures. Hell, we don't usually get below 15 degrees, though we did have a day where it was 8 degrees outside. But it has never gotten below zero.

But, as I was saying, we were outside for about a minute before going back inside. We went inside and made a hot glass of hot tea.  
"S-S-So c-c-cold." I stammered.  
Grandpa sneezed.  
"Yeah."

Thursday, November 24,

Yamato-Sensei came over with a delicious treat for Thanksgiving. Steak. Real steak.  
"I have a delicious surprise that I know you guys will love!" he said.  
We all gathered around him as he pulled out a slice of steak.  
"Oh my goddess!" Daddy said.  
"Where did you get this?" Grandpa asked.  
I stared at it, nearly drooling over the steak.  
"It doesn't matter," Sensei said. "Just be thankful!"  
He grinned and I hugged him.  
"Oh my goodness thank you Yamato-Sensei!" I cried.  
He chuckled.  
"Haha you're very welcome Taylor-San."

So, Grandpa took the steak and cooked it. We know Thanksgiving's traditional main course is turkey, but steak is better.

When we ate, I could tell everyone was thankful for the same thing; that we are all alive and well.

Tuesday, November 29,

Grandpa stared out the window today, thinking. His eyes seemed dark, like he was thinking intensely. Curiosity got the best of me, so I walked up behind him and looked up at his face. He didn't even glance at me.  
"Grandpa?" I asked.  
Nothing. Not even a nod.  
"Are you okay?" I asked.  
I got a strange response from him.

He frowned and clenched his teeth.  
"We're supposed to get hit by a snow storm on Friday," his voice was filled with unease. "Something about this snowstorm has me troubled."  
He looked at me.  
"I don't know," he said. "Its just a feeling."  
By the sound of his voice, it is something to worry about.


	16. Sixteen

Friday, December 2,

It happened. We've just been hit by the snowstorm. Oddly enough, I was the first one to notice it. I'd gone upstairs to take a shower and when I went into the shower, I noticed there wasn't any light coming out from the skylight. Knowing it was afternoon, I knew the skylight was covered because nothing else could cause it to be dark. I sighed and I rinsed myself clean and got out of the shower. Quickly, I dried myself off and threw my clothes on and I ran out, downstairs.  
"Grandpa, Daddy, why does it seem the skylight is covered?" I asked.  
"Huh?"  
"I can't see out of the skylight. Not that there is really anything to look at, but still."

They looked at the backdoor and Grandpa stood up. Wearily, he stumbled over to the door and opened it. As soon as he opened the door, the cold air from outside rushed inside and made us all shiver. I walked over and Daddy followed behind me.

Grandpa stood there, shivering, staring out at the backyard.  
"Good Goddess...," was all he could say.  
"What the hell?"  
"I can't see!" I cried.  
"Its snow." Grandpa said.  
"Man oh man, I've never seen so much snow in Virginia." Daddy said.  
"Yeah..." Grandpa said.  
"It looks pretty..." I said after squeezing myself in between them. "But it doesn't look right."  
"It's not white, but it's not quite grey either." Grandpa said.

I took in the sight of the backyard. The snow had to be about twenty inches high.  
"It's a blizzard," Grandpa said after a few moments. He shook his head. "It had to have started snowing this morning to have gotten this high off the ground."  
"What will we do?" I asked.  
Closing the back door, Grandpa sighed.  
"I don't know," he said. "We certainly can't go anywhere now."  
"Yeah," Daddy said, sitting down on his mattress.  
Gently, Grandpa brushed my hair back behind my ear and gave me a gentle look.  
"Don't worry, everything will be okay sweetie, I promise."  
Smiling, he added. "As long as we're together, we'll make it through."

I hugged Grandpa and he hugged me back. Carefully, he started rubbing my back.  
"We'll wait this storm out," he said.  
I nodded.  
"Now, go get under your blankets, you need to warm up."  
"Hai, Ojiisan."  
He smiled again and I walked over to my mattress. Slowly, I sat down on the cool mattress and I pulled my blankets over me.

Saturday, December 3,

It hasn't stopped snowing at all and the snow is close to the top of the bottom part of the downstairs window. Should we be worried?

Daddy glanced out the window this morning and shook his head.  
"So much snow," he said. "I've never seen this much snow in Chesapeake before. It'll certainly keep us from going anywhere."  
Grandpa nodded.  
"Indeed it will."  
"I hope Yamato-Sensei is okay," I sighed.  
"I'm sure he's fine sweetie." Grandpa said.  
Daddy nodded in agreement.

Sunday, December 4,

It stopped snowing sometime last night. No one knows when, all we know is that it stopped. Daddy was the first to notice it.  
"It stopped snowing." he said.  
"It did?" Grandpa asked, walking over to the window.  
"That's five feet of snow out there." Daddy said.  
"It's about as tall as I am," I commented.  
"Yeah it is."  
"I wonder if we'll get a better view from Taylor's room." Wondered Daddy.  
Grandpa nodded.  
"Good idea, Kakashi." he said.

We all went upstairs and went into my room. When we got into my room, I kicked my nightstand to the side and pulled the curtains aside so we could see. Everyone looked out. A thick blanket of ash-grey snow covered the entire neighborhood from what I could see. I stared out the window, not sure whether I should be scared or not.  
"With this much snow, there is probably a lot of snow on the roof that could cause the roof the cave in." Daddy suggested. "I bet we can get the ladder from the garage out and take some shovels up to the roof and clear off that snow."  
Grandpa nodded.  
"Yeah, I think that'll work well."  
I looked at them.  
"Are you sure," I said. "What if you guys get sick?"  
"Unlikely," Daddy chuckled. "We don't get sick very often..."  
I folded my arms.  
"We won't be out for long," Grandpa said. "We promise."  
He kissed my head and I hugged him. He chuckled and smiled.  
"Silly girl," he said. "Just hang tight downstairs."

I nodded.  
"Come on, lets layer up," Grandpa said. "It looks like hell froze over so its gonna be cold."  
Daddy nodded and the two of them left my room.

They were outside for about four hours, give or take an hour, clearing the roof off. When they got back inside, they were both shivering.  
"T-T-Taylor can y-you make some h-h-hot t-tea please?" Grandpa stammered.  
I nodded and bowed slightly.  
"I'll start on the tea immediately," I said.  
Quickly, I went into the kitchen and boiled some water and I grabbed two cups and two bags of tea. I set the cups on the stove and I placed the two tea bags into the cups. Daddy and Grandpa both sat on their mattress and huddled together for warmth.

"S-So c-cold...!" Daddy exclaimed.  
I looked at them.  
"Awww..." I said. "_Otousan to Ojiisan __kawaii desu_."  
I giggled.  
"Try being outside in below zero temperatures for four hours!" Grandpa exclaimed.  
I jumped back.  
"_Ōkee ōkee! Sumimasen._" I apologized. "_Sumimasen ga Ojiisan!_"  
He sighed.  
"Its fine, sweetie." he sneezed.

Hanging my head, I poured out the hot water into the cups and I brought them to Grandpa and Daddy. Quickly, they took their cups and started drinking. Sighing, I walked over to the thermostat and read the outside temperature. Five degrees below zero. I hope they never have to go outside like that again cause that's way too cold.

Thursday, December 8,

We've been trapped for almost a week, and for a good reason this time too; the snow. I look out the window everyday and I wonder if we're even in Virginia anymore. I've never been to New England, but it certainly feels like it. We've never had so much snow before, and when I think about snow, I think of Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont. When I think about snow, I never think about Virginia, specifically the Tidewater region. We have rather a rather mild climate when it comes to winter.

We didn't try to go to practice today. The roads are slippery and there's still snow on the ground. I bet Sensei didn't try to get to practice today either.

Sunday, December 11,

I'd realized this morning that we haven't eaten in a few days.  
"How come we haven't eaten since Wednesday?" I asked.  
Grandpa looked up.  
"What do you think?" he grumbled.  
"We just have forgotten to eat, that's all," Daddy said.  
I nodded.  
"But, at the same time, we're also saving the food for when we really need it."  
"Like right now," I muttered.  
Daddy shot me an uneasy glance.  
"Tomorrow, we'll eat, I promise," Grandpa said.  
"We better," I grumbled.

Monday, December 12,

Grandpa never breaks his promise. We had miso with a bit of rice on the side for dinner tonight. Yummy.

Thursday, December 15,

"This isn't right," Grandpa said this morning. "We should be eating at lunch time. We're hungry up until dinner, and then we stay up for an hour and we sleep not hungry. If we ate lunch, we wouldn't be hungry all day."  
Daddy nodded.  
"Yeah, we should eat lunch instead of dinner."  
"So... Lets eat lunch," I said.  
And so, we ate lunch and its about five o'clock. I'm not hungry so yay.

Tuesday, December 20,

Today was Solstice Eve for us, I guess you could say. We put up our tree and we put on our decorations. Then Daddy pulled out his flute and started teaching me how to play. He spent four hours trying to teach me how to play it and how to play a christmas song on it. After that, we went outside to play in the snow (and might I add that was probably a stupid mistake). I feel like we were out for too long and perhaps caught something.

I hope we didn't catch anything...

Wednesday, December 21,

Solstice was fun. First, there were no presents, but being alive with your family was enough for me. This morning, I woke up feeling glad that we're alive. For lunch, we had rice, miso, and some canned fruit. Yummy lunch!

As we ate lunch, Grandpa and Daddy told me a story from when I was two.  
"I remember you were sick one Solstice..." he'd said.  
"I was sick on Solstice?" I asked.  
Daddy said.  
"Oh yes! You were defiantly sick. You were about two? Yeah, two. You had a fever and a tummy ache," Daddy said.  
"I checked your temperature and you had a fever of 103 degrees." Grandpa said. "We wrapped you in a blanket and took you to the hospital immediately."  
"When we got there, the doctors gave you a popsicle to bring down the fever." Daddy said.  
"Thankfully, the next morning we got to take you home," Grandpa said with a smile.  
Daddy sighed.  
"A sick baby on Solstice. Not very fun if you ask me," he chuckled.  
I nodded.  
"I can imagine..." I said.

After lunch, Daddy stood up suddenly and ran up the stairs. Moments later we heard a flute playing.  
"Your otousan has pulled out his flute, it seems," Grandpa murmured, looking at the stairs.  
Soon, we saw him walk down the stairs as he played his flute. When he got downstairs, I slipped past him to get my violin. I ran up the stairs and ran straight into my room. Grabbing my violin and my bow from their case, I pulled the violin up to my shoulder and placed the bow on the strings of the violin. I started to play the same song as my father. Slowly, I walked out of my room and down the stairs. I listened to how my violin sorta synchronized with Daddy's flute as we played together.

Somehow, I felt drawn into the music, and I could tell Grandpa was listening as we played because I could feel him watching us.

When Daddy and I were done, we looked at Grandpa, who was smiling.  
"That was wonderful you two," he said.  
Daddy blushed a little.  
"Thanks Father," he said.  
I giggled a bit and I sat my violin down. Gently, I hugged Daddy and he hugged me back.  
"This has been a great Solstice," he said.  
I nodded in agreement. It has been a great Solstice.


	17. Seventeen (Sakumo's Chapter)

Thursday, December 22,

Taylor and Kakashi are both sick.

It started with Taylor. She'd started coughing this morning, but I didn't think too much about it until she fainted onto her mattress. We both saw her faint and immediately ran over to her.  
"Taylor!" Kakashi exclaimed, kneeling beside her.  
I kneeled beside him. My son gently brushed his daughter's bangs back and placed his hand on her forehead.  
"My word, she's burning up!" he exclaimed and coughed heavily.  
I put my hand on his forehead.  
"You're getting sick too," I said.  
"Taylor is more important, Father," Kakashi argued.  
I stood up.  
"Kakashi, go get the bottle of aspirin," I said.

Kakashi nodded and ran to the bathroom while I started on some tea for them both. I put some blankets on Taylor to keep her warm. A few minutes later, he ran back to me as the water was done boiling. I poured the water into the tea cups.  
"Uhm... Dad...?" Kakashi said.  
"What?" I asked.  
"Taylor is trying to throw her blankets off..." he said uneasily.  
I spun around.  
"Not enough time to let the tea brew a bit..." I said. "Kakashi, try to keep the blankets on her."  
Kakashi nodded and did as I told him, while I dipped the tea bags into the cups of hot water, and pulled them out ten seconds later. I grabbed one cup and hurried back over to Taylor, who was certainly conscious and trying to hit her father.  
"Daddy I'm too hot!" she cried.  
"Please keep your blankets on!" Kakashi said. "You don't want to be cold, do you?"

She hit him square in the face and I burst out laughing. Kakashi fell back, covering his nose.  
"Dammit not again." he grumbled.  
"I'm sorry," I laughed. "But that was funny."  
"Dad."  
I knelt down beside him.  
"She didn't hit you hard enough, you're fine." I said after taking a quick glance at his nose. "Now hold her arms back."  
Kakashi nodded and held Taylor's hands back so that she couldn't hit me. She squirmed, trying to escape.  
"Calm down, sweetie," I whispered. "Calm down."  
"Grandpa... I'm hot..." she cried.  
"You have a fever," I replied. "which is why you must keep the blankets on."  
"But Grandpa!" she cried.  
Silently, I put the aspirin into her mouth and made her drink the tea to wash it down.  
"There, there..." I soothed.

Taylor swallowed with a pained look on her face. Then, she moaned softly.  
"Daddy... Grandpa... my tummy hurts..." she coughed.  
I sighed.  
"I'm sorry, we don't have anything for stomach aches..." I grumbled.  
Kakashi kissed her forehead.  
"Go to sleep and perhaps you'll feel better when you wake up." he said.  
Taylor nodded and closed her eyes.  
"We'll feed her when she wakes up," I said. "But, we need to get you fed..."  
Kakashi sighed and coughed.  
"Right..." he said.  
I stood up.  
"You sleep with Taylor, I don't need to get sick right now." I said.  
"Yes, Otousan..." he said, sitting down beside Taylor.

Silently, I walked into the kitchen and grabbed Kakashi's cup of tea, bringing it back over to him.  
"Take an aspirin and drink this," I said.  
He nodded.  
"Yes Otousan."  
Kakashi took an aspirin and drank some tea. I returned to the kitchen and started making some of the instant ramen we have. When it was done, I brought it out to my son.  
"You only have to eat half of it," I said.  
He nodded and started eating. With a sigh, I sat down on my mattress and watched as he ate. As soon as he was finished, I tried to give some of it to Taylor after he suggested I try to.  
"She's probably not even asleep," he said.

I looked at her.  
"I guess you're right," I said, walking over to her mattress.  
"Taylor, are you awake sweetie?" I asked.  
A groan was her response. With a sigh, I guessed she was awake and so, I gave her some of the ramen.  
"Please eat it." I said with a gentle tone.  
She look delirious as she reached her head forward to get the ramen from me. Shaking her head, she laid back down and coughed heavily.  
"I don't think she can sit up long enough to eat." Kakashi said.  
Taylor nodded. Sighing, I reached the chopsticks in and pulled out some ramen and I cradled her head in my arm.  
"Open."  
She opened her mouth and I carefully placed the noodles in her mouth. She chewed and swallowed hard and groaned.  
"What? What's wrong sweetie...?" I asked.  
"My throat... hurts..." she rasped.

I shook my head.  
"You still have to eat this." I said.  
She nodded and I fed her the rest of the ramen.

Friday, December 23,

They both got worse overnight. Taylor is having more issues swallowing and her fever is worse and Kakashi's fever is worse and has a small problem with swallowing. He also is coughing.

This morning, I'd woken up to Kakashi practically coughing up a lung. I sat up and held up my head.  
"Kakashi, are you okay son?" I asked.  
He shook his head.  
"I'm not fine, father," he said, brushing his bangs back.  
I placed my hands on his forehead  
"My word!" I exclaimed. "Your fever has certainly gotten worse."  
He nodded.  
"Is Taylor awake?" I asked.  
He looked at Taylor and then shook his head.  
"I'm afraid not, Dad."

A soft sigh escaped my lips.  
"At least she's not trying to throw her blankets off," he said.  
"Kakashi go get an aspirin and make yourself some tea while I figure out how to give Taylor one without her choking on it."  
"Maybe she'll wake up soon," my son said.

And, she woke a few minutes later with a loud groan. Immediately, I got up and made some ramen and tea for her. And unfortunately, she was unable to swallow the aspirin I'd given her, so I had to dissolve it in the tea for her.  
When I went into the living room with the tea, Kakashi said, "I'll give her the tea, Dad."  
I nodded.  
"Alright."  
Silently, I handed him the tea and watched as he cradled her head in his elbow while making her drink the tea. She drank it and afterward, she coughed heavily. An exasperated sigh left my mouth.

"I'll feed her," I said a few minutes later, when the ramen was done.  
Silently, I held her head up and fed her the ramen.  
"Dad should we try to give her a bath?" asked Kakashi.  
"If she's awake long enough to do so then yeah. No reason she can't do it." I replied.  
When I finished feeding her, she was still awake so I took her upstairs to get a bath. I sat her down on the toilet and closed the door behind me.  
"Taylor... I hate to ask you to do this but please take off your clothes so you can take a bath..." I said.  
She nodded tiredly and started undressing. I turned around because I could not watch. I would be more comfortable if she was a four-year-old because she hadn't hit puberty. But she isn't a four-year-old. She's a young lady.  
"When you're done, get into the bathtub if you can." I instructed her.  
"Yes Grandpa..." she replied, her voice remained raspy.

I could hear her get into the bathtub. Turning around, I muttered, "I think this will be the most embarrassing thing I've ever experienced." Sitting down on the toilet lid, I watched her to make sure she was okay. I noticed something I didn't before; she's gotten a bit thin in the past seven months. She was about 108 pounds before all this happened and now she must be about 90 pounds, give or take. I looked in the mirror at myself. I myself have lost some weight. Maybe about as much as Taylor, maybe more. I'd hate to see Kakashi without his shirt.

I glanced back at Taylor, who'd fallen asleep.  
"Taylor?"  
No response. I was right. This is going to be the most embarrassing thing I've ever experienced. Sighing, I took off my shirt so it wouldn't get wet and I took the bamboo poof out of her hands and scrubbed her down. With my eyes closed of course.

When she was as clean as can be in ashy water, I drained the bathtub and dried her off with a clean towel. Then, I started getting her into her clothes, which was probably the hard part. After she was dressed, I carried her downstairs and laid her down on her bed and pulled her blankets up to her neck.

Oh what a fun day... not.

Oh no, I hear Taylor groaning. I should go check on her.

Saturday, December 24,

Kakashi and Taylor slept all day long. I made them both ramen and fed them myself. Also, I dissolved some aspirin in their tea and made them drink it.

Neither one of them have gotten better and Taylor is still having a hard time swallowing.

I'm so hungry right now, but I can't eat until they're better.

Sunday, December 25,

Kakashi and Taylor both woke up about the same time.  
"Father, my head hurts..." Kakashi groaned.  
I looked at him.  
"I already gave you an aspirin," I said. "I can't give you anything for the next three hours."  
Suddenly, we heard Taylor moan and saw her rub her head.  
"Grandpa," she whispered, barely audible. "turn..."  
I couldn't make out the rest.  
"Turn what?" I asked.  
She tried to speak but we couldn't make out any words.  
"Kakashi, what did she say?" I asked.

He shrugged.  
"I couldn't make out anything," he said, clearing his throat. "Taylor, sweetie, I think you've lost your voice."  
Taylor coughed and moaned again, shaking her head. Suddenly, she pointed at the ceiling fan and brought her finger down. _What is she saying_, I thought.  
"What are you trying to tell us?" I asked her.  
"Turn... off... th-the l-light." she rasped.  
"Dad she said to-"  
"I heard her Kakashi," I said, standing up.  
Stretching, I reached up for the light switch. Slowly, I turned off the lights.  
"Is that better sweetie?" I asked as I grabbed a candle for me to see better.  
"She said yes," Kakashi said.

I lit the candle and looked at Taylor, who seemed like she was going to throw up.  
"Are you okay sweetie?" I asked.  
She shook her head.  
"Why don't you go back to sleep?" I suggested. "You'll certainly feel better when you wake up."  
She nodded and closed her eyes. I sighed and sat down in my bed.  
"I'm going to get some well needed rest," I said. "You might as well do so as well."  
He nodded and went to sleep. I blew out the candle and went to sleep.

Monday, December 26,

"Grandpa, I'm cold," complained Taylor.  
So, I went upstairs and brought down an extra blanket. I laid it down on her and she was still complainant about being cold. I grabbed two off her bed from upstairs and laid them on her. I think that did the trick.

Tuesday, December 27,

They're getting better, I suppose. Though, Taylor is extremely weak and keeps complaining about being cold and quite demanding. "I'm hungry!" "I'm thirsty!" "My tummy hurts!" "I want my _kakashi_ plushie!" She's cute but damn was she demanding! Good Goddess! I kept thinking, _Please let her loose her voice again. _After that thought, I would think, _But then I wouldn't know what's wrong if something was hurting or if she was sick._

Wednesday, December 28,

Taylor is thankfully well enough to go take a shower and get dressed on her own, but I still have to carry her upstairs because she's still rather weak.

Thursday, December 29,

"Grandpa, what was I sick with?" asked Taylor this morning.  
I had to write down her symptoms to figure it out.  
_Cough  
__Weak  
Delirious  
Tummy ache  
Sensitivity to light  
Headache  
Fever  
Fatigue_

"You and your father were sick with the flu," I said.  
"Did you write it down in my journal?" she asked.  
"Yes, I copied it straight from mine." I replied.  
"Can I read it?" she asked.  
"Of course," I said, handing her the black notebook she uses.


	18. Eighteen

Friday, December 30,

Yay, I have my journal back and I certainly feel better, though I'm still rather weak. Grandpa has Daddy and I eating 3 meals a day still. He told us our food supply is running low, but it _should _last a few weeks (We can only hope!). So, starting tomorrow, we're all eating once a day.

Sunday, January 1,

Every year, Grandpa resolves to spend more time with us, Daddy usually resolves to find a job, and I resolve to practice my Karate. And this past year, I think Grandpa was the only one who managed to fulfill his new year's resolution. And, since there aren't any jobs, my father can't search for any, and since I practically practice Karate every other day, we ended up asking each other for ideas.

"Aa! What should my resolution be?" Daddy had asked us.

I shrugged.

"Perhaps you could write a book, I mean we do have a working computer," I said.

"Hm, but what could I write about?" he asked.

"Write some horror stories like Stephen King or Dean Koontz," Grandpa said.

Daddy nodded.

"Sounds like something I could do this year." he said.

"What should I do?" I asked.

They looked at each other and looked at me. Neither one could answer that.

"We don't know." Daddy said.

"I guess there is nothing to really resolve to do this year..." I grumbled.

So really, no new years resolutions. What a drag.

Wednesday, January 4,

Man it sucks still being weak. I can't go to practice tomorrow because I'm still weak.

Man oh man, that flu really must've kicked my ass!

How rude.

Sunday, January 8,

I think I slept for a little too long, or I'm just really exhausted today. I feel as cranky as someone who loves coffee doesn't have any and really groggy.

Daddy is making us tea and I think we have a ghost cat because I feel something in my lap. Perhaps I'm still delirious... It wouldn't surprise me if I am still delirious.

Monday, January 9,

I feel better than yesterday. Even after I got better from that flu, I still feel sick. Should I be concerned or no?

Wednesday, January 11,

We got about another 7 inches of snow last night. I know Virginian weather is screwy, but damn! This is ridiculous.

Oh snow, how I am beginning to hate you!

Thursday, January 12,

There was an ice storm last night and the tree and the fence are covered in grey-tinged ice. Grandpa says the road is unsafe to travel on, so we couldn't attempt to go to practice today.

"This weather is really starting to get out of hand," Daddy grumbled.

I nodded.

"Yeah..."

"I don't like it either but we will just have to deal with it," Grandpa said. "Perhaps it'll get better."

"It better get better," I muttered.

Friday, January 13,

Oh look. Friday the 13.

Nothing really happened today, I just wanted to say that.

Although, Grandpa went onto the roof and cleared off the snow and he came back inside with a bad backache.

"Ow..." he groaned as he took off his jacket.

"What's wrong, _Otousan_?" Daddy asked, looking up from his DS.

I looked up from mine.

"Yeah, what's wrong _Ojiisan_?" I asked.

Grandpa nearly collapsed beside Daddy.

"Oh Goddess... my back..." he mumbled, kneeling onto the bed instead of collapsing.

Slowly, I put down my DS and I rubbed his back.

"Grandpa, would you like me to start a warm bath for you?" I asked.

He nodded slowly.

"_Douzo_..."

I nodded and bowed, and then I slowly made my way upstairs, watching my feet so I could make sure I don't fall. Believe me, I do not need a back ache or a sprained ankle.

When I got upstairs, I ran to the bathroom and went inside. I flipped the light switch and on came the lights. Quickly, I turned on the water and plugged the drain once it warmed up. When the tub was half full, I turned off the water and went out into the hall.

"Grandpa!"

"I'm coming..." he said, exhaustion hung heavy in his voice.

Slowly, he started making his way up the stairs.

"I pushed myself a little too hard," he grumbled.

"I can tell..." I said worriedly.

He winced and stopped walking.

"I was trying to get it done so I could get back inside. Perhaps I worked too fast. I should've at least taken a small break. Also, I nearly fell off the roof."

"And that wasn't a clue to not go so fast?" I asked.

"I wasn't thinking, the cold was making it hard to think. I had a headache. Well actually, I still do. You know, it's nearly minus twenty degrees outside?" Grandpa said. "And uhm, can you help me get upstairs?"

I nodded and went down to the stair he was on and helped him get upstairs. Grandpa held my shoulder tightly as we walked.

"I hope it doesn't snow again," he grumbled. "I nearly slipped off the roof when I was heading for the ladder to climb down. That's what that thump and startled cry was, if you could hear it."

"_Aa,_ sō."

We got to the bathroom and I helped him inside.

"Just stay in your room, for when I need your help," he said.

I nodded. "Yes, Grandpa."

He gestured for me to leave and I did. I closed the door behind me and went into my room. Silently, I sat down on my bed, then I laid down on my side and glanced around until I closed my eyes.

I must've fallen asleep because as soon as I heard Grandpa's voice, I awoke with a start.

"Taylor!" he exclaimed. "Can I have a little help getting down the stairs?"

I jumped up.

"Yeah, of course Grandpa." I said, walking out to the bathroom.

I opened the door and saw him standing in front of me, wincing in pain.

"Yeah... I'm not going to get out of bed until tomorrow..." he grumbled.

I nodded.

"Good..."

I don't need my grandpa being injured.

Saturday, January 14,

Grandpa is feeling better than yesterday, and I made him take an advil and gave him a heating pad to help with his back pain. I sure hope his back stops hurting!

Sunday, January 15,

I went upstairs into Grandpa's room to pray to the goddess and the god (Yeah I wanted to do something and that came to mind). When I was meditating, I met up with my spirit animal; a beautiful, black and white, blue-eyed wolf. It seemed kind, trustworthy, and loyal. To me, it seemed like it was trying to confort me. It was rubbing against my legs and licking my ankles. I think that's confort. Is it? I don't know. Perhaps it is, perhaps it isn't.

Thursday, January 19,

Today, we went to practice and Yamato-sensei was there, thankfully.

"What a winter!" he exclaimed, talking to Grandpa.

"Yeah," Grandpa said. "We were actually trapped for a long time and Taylor and Kakashi were both terribly sick."

"With what?" he'd asked.

"The flu."

"It was that bad strain of flu, right?" Yamato-Sensei asked. "It's been going around for quite some time now and many people have died from this strain. The whole Hampton Roads area was quarantined. No one could get in, no one could go out. But, what's the use of the quarantine? It effects the entire United States, maybe even eastern Europe. Hell, maybe even the whole world."

"Man, that's terrible," Grandpa said.

"I know. And I'm really glad your son and granddaughter were able to pull through," he said, smiling gently at me. "Oh, uhm Sakumo, mind if we speak in private?"

Grandpa nodded.

"Of course," he turned to me and tossed me the keys to the truck. "Go warm up the truck."

I nodded.

"Yes Grandpa."

Obediently, I went out to the truck and turned it on. I crawled inside and closed the door behind me and I put the keys in, starting the car. It was really cold, and I was shivering as I waited in the truck. And I was shivering for about 15 minutes before Grandpa got into the truck with a big grin on his face.

"Hm?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said, handing me a bag. "More rice and some udon."

He smiled softly. A kind, gentle smile. The way he used to smile, before this all happened. Honestly, its the one thing I miss the most. His smile comforts me no matter what the situation.

Friday, January 20,

I'm stubborn. First thing I did when I got up was run to the bathroom. When I was done, I ran back and then ran up the stairs. I'm sure I was hyper. Hm, what gave me that clue? Probably the running around gave me the clue.

Still feeling a little hyper, I ran back down the stairs. Then, I continued until I started coughing. Yeah, I wore myself out. I could tell because I collapsed on the last step going up. _Well that was smart Taylor,_ I thought bitterly to myself.

Slowly, I stood up and turned around.

"You okay Taylor?" Grandpa called.

"Oh I've never been better," I replied with sarcasm.

A soft chuckle came from the kitchen.

"That's what you get," said Daddy playfully.

"Meh, _gomen gomen._" I said. "Man I've never felt so hyper before. I wonder why!"

"Maybe you're just crazy." Grandpa chuckled.

"Of course I'm crazy," I grumbled, sitting down on my mattress.

I sighed softly.

"Anyone want lunch?" Grandpa asked.

I shook my head.

"Not hungry..." I grumbled.

"Kakashi?"

"I'm not very hungry..." he replied.

"Alright..."

Tuesday, January 25,

You'd think that we wouldn't be bored since we have electricity, but we are. No one wants to play Shogi, we've watched all our movies more than once, and reread all our books. So, all we've really been doing is sleep. Oh yes indeed, I agree. Its kinda boring, even though I like to sleep. Though, I do want to play shogi with Grandpa...

Wednesday, January 26,

We have a dog now. Her name is Kohaku (meaning "amber") and she is about three months old. She was given to us by Chief Grant this afternoon.

"She's yours if you want her, Miss Taylor." he said to me as I held the little puppy. "The little pup's mom - who was my dog, remember little Isabelle? - died and now her pup needs a home."

I held the little blue-eyed husky puppy in my arms.

"I have plenty of food for her, no worries," he said.

The little puppy looked up at me with pitiful eyes and I had to say yes to her.

"So cute..." I said.

"So, do you want to have her?" he asked. I nodded.

"Of course!" I exclaimed.

"Kakashi? Sakumo?"

"Of course she can have the dog," Grandpa said. "We have no problems with that."

Chief Grant smiled.

"Thank you Chief Grant!" I thanked him.

"You're welcome," he said. "Lets just say its's your early birthday gift."

I nodded and hugged him with one arm. He chuckled and hugged me back, then went back out to his car and brought in some dog food. I held the dog in my arms and sat down on my mattress.

"Hi," I said. "What should we name you?"

"Kohaku," Grandpa said, pointing at her eyes. "See the flakes of Kohaku in her eyes?"

I looked at her eyes. Indeed there was some amber in her eyes. Just a little hint of amber, but it was noticeable.

"Kohaku..." I whispered.

Kohaku looked up at me and licked my face.

"Awww she likes you." Grandpa said.

I nodded.

"She does.

Chief Grant came back inside with two big bags of dog food.

"This should last about two months," he said. "Did you guys name her?"

I nodded.

"Kohaku, Japanese for 'amber'" I replied.

"Kohaku..." Ben repeated. "What a pretty name."

He smiled.

"I must go now," he said. "I'll see you guys soon I hope."

We nodded.

"Thanks Benjamin." Grandpa said.

"You're welcome Sakumotsu." the chief replied.


	19. Nineteen

Thursday, January 27,

Today, I fought Kenta-Sensei and I won the fight. It was my first one in weeks so I was rather happy. I wonder why I had to fight Kenta-Sensei all of a sudden. Why did Yamato-Sensei not have his black belt on? Why was he holding a clipboard and a pen? I didn't ask, I guessed he was drawing something out cause it did look like he was drawing... Whenever I glanced up at him. Whatever it was left me curious, but not curious enough to really ask.

Also, I spent half the day doing school work. First, I was practicing spanish with Grandpa (and we practiced as my characters Moriko and Kazuhiko).

"_Me llama es Moriko,_" I said.

My name is Moriko.

"_Me llama es Kazuhiko. __¿De dondé eres?_" Grandpa asked._  
_

My name is Kazuhiko. Where are you from?

"_Soy de Numazu-shi, Shizuoka, Japan. ¿De dondé usted?_" I said.

I am from Numazu-Shi, Shizuoka, Japan. Where are you from (formal)?

"_Soy de Tokyo, Japan_." Grandpa said.

And after español, we did algebra. Ew, math. Here's one problem I did;

15g+45g≤1200

First thing I have to do; combine like-terms. I did that and got this;

60g≤1200

And then I stared at the page like, "Haha you expect me to remember this?". But then, it hit me. You gotta divide _baka_!

60÷60g≤1200÷60

And I got 20 for my answer.

Saturday, January 29,

Grandpa went out to do something or another and came back around 5 in the evening.

"What were you doing?" I asked in curiosity as he walked inside.

"Oh, I was doing stuff." he said, taking off his coat. "You know, sorting out papers for Chief Grant."

"Why?" I asked.

"Just because I wanted to," he said. "I had to get out for awhile."

I nodded slowly, not sure if I believed him or not.

"Mhm..."

"Seriously," Grandpa said, trying to keep a straight face. "I was just sorting out papers for the Chief."

I crossed my arms.

"Oh geez Taylor," Daddy said. "Just believe your grandfather."

I sighed and nodded.

"Alright, if you say so..." I said.

Tuesday, January 31,

"¡Feliz cupleaños!" exclaimed Daddy and Grandpa when I awoke this morning.

I sat up and stared at them.

"_Ohayo_?" I said, confused.

"Its your birthday today, remember?" Daddy said.

"Oh, right..." I murmured.

"Silly girl," Grandpa said.

Kohaku hopped up onto my bed and licked my face.

"Oi, Taylor, get yourself dressed and we'll take Kohaku out for a walk to Oak Grove Park," Daddy said. "We need some Father-Daughter time."

Nodding, I stood up and I threw on my heavy jacket and my scarf. I untied my hair and I slipped my boots on. Then, I hooked Kohaku onto the leash we'd kept from when we had our first dog and we were ready.

"Alright," I said.

"We'll eat when we get back," he said. "Alright?"

I nodded.

"Yes Daddy."

Grandpa smiled and mouthed something to Daddy, who responded with a slight nod of his head. Gently, he grabbed my hand.

"_Ikouyo_," Daddy said to me, gesturing for me to follow him.

With Kohaku, we walked out and started heading for Oak Grove Park. Quietly, Daddy walked with his mouth and nose buried in his red scarf. I walked the same way, holding Kohaku's leash tightly in my right hand. Suddenly, Otousan closed his eyes like he was smiling when we were walking through the parking lot of the park.

"You don't know how proud I am of you," he said.

I glanced at him, confused.

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

A humored chuckle escaped his mouth, echoing through the empty lot. Then, he stopped.

"They way you've handled this nightmare," he said. "This cataclysm. Normal kids - you know like your classmates - wouldn't even had made it. They would've been acting like three-year-olds because they're immature. You, on the other hand, have handled this maturely."

We turned around and started heading back home. Then, as soon as we got back, we walked up the lawn up to the front door.

"You are the best daughter in the world. Happy birthday," he said, opening the front door.

"Surprise!"

I jumped backwards, nearly falling down. Thankfully, Daddy caught me before I could. Man was I startled! Daddy laughed and brought me back inside. Standing by the stairs was Grandpa, Yamato-Sensei, my friend Charlene, Miguel, Deputy Riker, Lieutenant Carlos, and of course the chief himself, Chief Grant. They all were smiling.

"Happy birthday Taylor!" they all exclaimed.

Grandpa grinned and he hands on his waist. Something told me he was behind the planning, so I ran at him and hugged him tightly. He chuckled and hugged me back.

"You're welcome," he said, taking my hug as a thank you.

"Hey, where's my hug?" Yamato-Sensei asked. "I came up with this idea."

I giggled and hugged him too. He chuckled and hugged me back.

"My best _karateka_ deserves the best birthday party a girl can get in this world." he said.

Kohaku started barking at everyone and we all laughed at her.

"Silly girl," I giggled.

"So this is the newest addition to the family...," Yamato-Sensei said, crouching down to pet her. "What is your name?"

"Her name is Kohaku." I said.

"Kohaku...," he repeated. "What a pretty name."

I nodded and hugged everyone else.

"I thought you'd left!" I exclaimed when I hugged Miguel. Actually, I didn't just hug him. I glomped him! Which means I attacked him with a hug.

"Who says I was gonna leave?" he grinned, hugging me back. "I said I was just going to quit Karate."

I giggled in embarrassment.

"Oh... Of course. Silly me."

Lieutenant Carlos - Grandpa's friend and Miguel's father - said, "Miguel, go get the cake."

"Cake?" I was surprised to hear the term. "Cake". I hadn't heard that in months, let alone have a slice of it.

Miguel nodded and went outside and came back moments later with a box.

"Señor Hatake, where would you like me to place this?" he asked Grandpa.

"Over on the stove would be fine," Grandpa replied. "And Kakashi, please go get the candles."

Daddy nodded.

"_Hai, otousan_."

With a big grin, he silently went into the kitchen. He opened a drawer and pulled out 15 little birthday candles. Everyone walked into the kitchen as Daddy placed the candles on the cake. I stood in front of the cake. It was square and had white icing on it with, "¡Feliz cupleaños Señorita Taylor!" written on it. Grandpa stood behind me with his hands on my shoulders. Daddy lit the candles and smiled.

"I don't think she'll enjoy us singing," Grandpa joked. "So, lets all just say happy birthday."

And that's exactly what they did. After they said it, I could feel my face warm up.

"Blow out the candles, sweetie," said Daddy. I nodded and did so and he grinned.

"I'll cut the cake," Daddy said. "I don't trust her with the knife."

We all laughed.

"Hell, I don't even trust myself with the knife!" I giggled.

Daddy chuckled.

"Good," he said, cutting the cake. "Hm, a bit on the wet side on the inside from what I can tell."

"Yeah," Miguel said. "I might've put it in the oven for less time than what you normally have to do. Plus, we didn't have enough time to put it back into the oven."

"Aa, its fine," Daddy said, grabbing the plates.

Carefully, he took one slice and put it on a plate, and then handing it off to me with a pair of chopsticks.

"Sorry we don't have any forks," he said to everyone. "But you know, chopsticks do well."

"Well I think we've all used chopsticks on rice from a Chinese restaurant, so I don't think it'll be much of an issue," Chief Grant said.

Daddy nodded and I sat down on my mattress. I started eating my cake as Daddy gave Miguel his slice of cake. I looked at him and watched as he sat down beside me.

"Your _papá_ is really cool," Miguel said. "So is your _abuelo_."

I nodded.

"_Sí señor._" I said.

Charlene joined us

"I can't believe you're still here," I said.

She nodded.

"There's really no other place to go," she replied. "No place is safe."

I nodded.

"Yeah... I guess you're right." I said.

Kohaku climbed up beside me and sat down. Contently, she laid down and used my leg as a pillow.

"Aww," Charlene said. "Cute puppy!" I nodded.

"Thank you," I giggled.

Then I looked at Daddy.

"Otousan, go get Kohaku's treats," I said.

"Right," he said, reaching up to the cabinet for his dog treats.

The dog barked and ran over to Daddy, who'd just pulled out a bone for her. He let out a soft chuckle.

"Kohaku, sit."

She sat down and wagged her tail, joyfully. The expression on her face said, 'Can I have the treat? Can I? Please? Please?'. Smiling, Daddy held out the treat for her.

"Good girl," he grinned

Kohaku ate her treat contently and Grandpa chuckled.

When we finished eating our cakes, we had moved the mattresses to the stairs and Grandpa turned on the computer and played some music. As soon as we started dancing, Kohaku took the chance to go upstairs and hide. Funny enough, everyone took turns dancing with me.

When Miguel danced with me, Grandpa turned on some Inoue Kazuhiko songs to dance to. Miguel took my hand and we danced.

"_Señor Miguel, tú eres muy divertido._" I said.

Miguel, you are very fun.

"Oh? _¿Te gusta?_" he asked.

You like?

I nodded.

"Me gusta." I said. "_¿Señor, tú hablas mucho español?_"

I like. You speak a lot of Spanish?

"_Sí señorita_," he winked.

Yes ma'am.

I smiled a bit.

"What are they saying?" Yamato-Sensei asked.

"_No sé_," Grandpa replied. "Aa, they're just being _totemo kurejī_."

I don't know.

"Seems about right..."

I yawned when the song was over.

"Man I'm tired. _¿Qué hora es?_"

What time is it?

"Its... 6:50pm," Daddy said.

"I think its about time for us to go," Lieutenant Carlos said. "We kinda need to hurry back to Norfolk."

Miguel nodded.

"Yeah."

Smiling, he leaned in and kissed me. I was shocked.

"Its a goodbye kiss," he said.

I didn't know how to respond, so I just nodded slowly.

"_Loco amigo..._," I grumbled softly.

Crazy friend.

He grinned.

"Come on Charlene, we'll get you back," Carlos said.

She nodded and handed me a drawing of Pikachu and Eevee. She smiled.

"See you later, Taylor." she said.

I nodded. "_Merci et _see you later _Mademoiselle._"

Thank you and see you later.

Carlos, Miguel, and Charlene left. I sat on my mattress with the drawing. Riker handed me a doll and smiled.

"My wife knew your birthday was coming up and she some brown, peach, black, orange, grey and blue fabric and some stuffing to stuff a doll with and decided to make a plush doll of your favorite singer. It was the only thing either of us could come up with," he paused. "And look, she even made a little Nyanko-Sensei to go with Mr. Inoue."

I took them both.

"Thank you," I said, hugging Deputy Riker.

"No problem," he said. "Now I ought to hurry home. Don't want to be out past curfew now do I?"

I nodded.

"Yeah."

"Well, I hope to see you guys later," he said, walking out.

"Bye," we waved.

"So... Teira..." Ben said. "How's Kohaku?"

"She's great," I said as the little pup made her way downstairs. I hugged Plushie Inoue. "She's a great dog and she loves me."

He smiled.

"That's great," he said, smiling.

"Ah, now lets get the mattresses back where they were so we can get some sleep. Or at least Birthday Girl get some sleep," said Grandpa.

So, they moved the mattresses back and then the chief went back home. I went to bed with my Plushie Inoue and my little Nyanko-Sensei. Best birthday ever!


End file.
